Words cannot express my anger towards my president when I heard that he “honored” the prime minister of our strongest ally, Gordon Brown with the gift of 25 American Movie DVDs (that I wouldn’t even want). President Obama needs to publicly apologize to Gordon Brown and Great Britain for his actions. My president will most likely not apologize so I will have to do so on his behalf.
This letter was sent to the Telegraph in the UK (trying to get email for Gordon. If you know then send it along my way) so that they may reprint it for it’s British readers. To be fair, I have also written a letter to President Obama on why I did not appreciate his actions and why they were not in line with the American presidency. That letter has already be emailed to President Obama.
Dear Citizens of Great Britain,
I want to apologize for the thoughtless and inconsiderate gifts from my commander and chief, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama to your Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his family. America has had a long and meaningful history with Britain, as we stood together to help resolve world conflict. As our strongest ally in our fight against terrorism, my president should have been more attentive and less trite in his choice of presents. Gifts presented to heads of state, in honor of their first visit to the White House, are an important part of good international relations. It goes without saying, that it is imperative that gifts of that magnitude be equal to the intention and strength of each country’s relationship to one another. Prime Minister Brown was gracious and thoughtful in presenting gifts that symbolize hallmarks of our diplomacy. The carved penholder from an anti-slave ship, the commissioning paper from a rescued vessel and the first edition biography of Winston Churchill all represent the freedom, commitment and the leadership between our nations that paved the way for the liberty of millions of world citizens.
The American presidency is a sacred honor that is bestowed, not by one’s own accord, but by the power of their fellow citizen’s vote. President Obama is to protect and preserve our interests and relationships with our friends around the world. I am embarrassed and offended that my president would choose to honor our countries’ alliance with 25 mundane American movies that could be purchased at any given time. Perhaps it would have been more personable if he included a Paddington Bear and a Teddy Roosevelt Bear together in a box set. Please accept my apology on behalf of President Barack Obama.
The Crave
www.politicalcrave.com
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A Letter to President Obama
President Obama,
I was saddened and offended by your choice to honor Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his family with 25 American movies that he could have purchased from Amazon in the middle of the night. These gifts were not commensurate with the respect and honor you should have shown to one of our greatest allies. I certainly doubt that Ms. Michelle LaVaughn Robinson would have thought it respectful of you to offer her 25 movies as a token of your love and commitment during your proposal. Gifts express our appreciation and intent for another person. In the case of PM Gordon, Britain is an ally, a friend, who we need to always show appreciation and consideration.As the American President, you hold an office that only 43 other American citizens have ever experienced and it is a sacred honor that was bestowed upon you by your fellow American citizens’ vote. You should not only hold this high responsibility as a good steward of the Constitution but also protect our foreign relationships as you would the foundation to a home.
The Crave
www.politicalcrave.com
What do you think about Obama’s choice of presents? Something tells me that the media would be playing this one out for a very long time if it were Bush.
G-20 April 1, 2009 joke fool update: Obama give the Queen an IPOD so that she can always remember him. NICE!
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
It is indeed an insult to diplomacy. I cannot imagine the backlash that would have occurred if Pres. Bush had presented such “gift”.
Saturday Night Live and others would lampoon it quicker than you could say “ET”.
TACKY!!!! and so classless!!!
(
It is a disgrace. Obama is a disgrace. Perhaps he’ll put the ’sharpie’ away with his hand mirror in a drawer and instead of signing autographs and studying his smile he can focus on the economy. He’ll topple off his white horse soon enough. I just hope that the United States won’t have a sickle on our flag instead of the stars.
I also understand that Mr. Brown was not greeted upon his arrival by Mr. Obama. Supposedly, because Mr. Obama was already tired. Unbelievable……….
[trying to get email for Gordon. If you know then send it along my way]
I am sorry to break it to you but Gordon Brown has no office email address. The function to send him online messages was originally programmed into the http://www.number10.gov.uk website, but for a while now the feature has been removed, with the following statement given:
“Email Number 10
We have decided at this time that it is important to take another look at the Email Number 10 service to ensure that it meets the same high standards as the other content and communication measures that the website delivers.
Unfortunately, this means that we will be unable to replace the service as quickly as we had hoped, but we aim to have it up and running as soon as possible. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused.”
You’ll have to stick with either fax or snail-mail.
I was hoping that letters to the editor at the telegraph would do it…but surprisingly I haven’t seen the one that I emailed to them.
Obama outbid me on the DVD set. !!! !! You gotta be mighty quick to outfox that man.
The UK tortured Obama’s Grandpappy. With that in consideration I think his response to the UK was most restrained.
It’s not like he declared war on the UK like his predecessor did on a country who had tried to hurt his father. The UK actually DID hurt Obama’s Grandfather. Therefore there is more justification for Obama to go to war with Britain than there ever was for Bush to go to war with Iraq.
Oh, Alice, poor Alice.
Holding a grudge for 300 years … and you have to bring it up again.
People hurt people in personal and national arenas. It’s our nature. Revenge may be sweet but what does it achieve? Nothing.
Makes matters worse.
What about “turning the other cheek” …???
Religious people are such hypocrites.
INAW
The gifts are not about personal relationships but a measure of the relation between states.
If however Alice wishes to bring up the issue that Pres Obama’s grandfather may have been tortured at the time of Mau-Mau terror (and they were a gruesome bunch of terrorists), then it is worth pointing out, that had it not been for the fact Britain outlawed slavery, and had a Royal Navy that could and did impose that decision worldwide, Pres Obama’s ancestors, and millions of other Africans, would have ended up as slaves in Arabia or worse.
It will take a lot more then a careless “gift” to ruin the special relationship between the UK and the USA. It is so heartwarming to read the letters on this web page. Thank you all.
you can’t make a silk purse out of a cow’s ear, those 2 clowns have no business in the White House. Britain was with us toe to toe in Iraq and this is how we thank them. It just goes to show you can’t buy class.
Most Brits weren’t angry… Brown’s not so bad, but we are fed up with him and his policies. His trip came off looking like a desperate mission to rub some Obama magic off on himself. I wouldn’t have been surprised if the meeting was arranged under duress, with Obama dragged along by a persistent UK foreign office. Obama handled the debacle with cool politeness.
This is so embarrassing. Our President and the First Lady represent all Americans. Maybe they need to be reminded of this fact, in addition to remembering that the White House is ‘our’ house and not exclusively theirs. Some people attempt to excuse their appalling lack of manners and grace by stating that they have ‘more important things to do.’ I will hold back on comments about appearing on late night talk shows and posing for magazine covers. There have always been people in the State Department and experts in protocol available to advise the President in these matters, and who can do the requisite footwork to ensure the President and his wife do not commit such gross social errors. It appears that the Pres and Mrs. Obama feel they are above taking such advice. How cheap and arrogant they come off, which again reflects on each and every one of us. Their behaviors in this instance show utter disregard for the most basic of good manners, for international protocol and demonstrate not even a semblance of recognition of our special relationship with the good people of Great Britain — because when they insult foreign leaders in this manner, they also insult the people of that country. See how thoughtful and gracious the Browns were in the gifts they brought. It is Amateur Hour at its worst at the White House these days. Shocking and humiliating. My six-year-old would know better how to treat guests.
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