IGM Snubbing England

Inter-galactic Memo
To: American citizens

Fr: W. Leavitt, American Citizen

Re: Snubbing England



In the Middle of the nineteenth century England sent one of its premier warships, the HMS Resolute, on and exploratory mission into the Arctic. If you are unfamiliar with the story you should read it or watch one of several documentaries. It’s an extraordinary story of heroism, privation and human endurance. The Captain of the Resolute eventually made it back to England and was court-martialed for leaving a perfectly good ship stuck in the ice. Sometime later the ice gave way enough that the US Navy was able to free the Resolute and tow it back to England as a gift, a symbol of reconciliation for the less-than-cordial relations over the last several decades. Queen Elizabeth determined to have the timber salvaged from the Resolute and had two desks made from some of the wood. One is in Buckingham Palace, the other was a gift to the President of the United States. It has been resting in the Oval Office for years. Those of us who remember the photo of John Kennedy Jr, peeking into a hidden compartment of his father’s desk might recall this story. That was the desk from the Resolute. The symbolism of loyalty and fidelity between two great allies is not only obvious, but important in perpetuity.
Goodness, why am I telling this story? Because of England’s recent visit to America, specifically Gordon (the Prime Minister) Brown’s visit to the White House. Not only was the Obama White House not prepared for such a visit, they did not know how to be prepared. They apparently have no idea what a state visit means, or the definition of what a traditional and important ally might be. This is England, mind you, not Sri Lanka or Lichtenstein. These are the people with whom we secured the victory in WWII, and who have stood by us ever since. One would expect a proper welcome at the very least, but Obama couldn’t put one together with the resources and expertise of his fledgling administration. No press conference, no state dinner, no official welcome. Mostly it was the local equivalent of “hey, how’ ya doin’? What’d ya say your name was?”
Brown came bearing gifts. He gave the President a set of pens made from the wood of the Resolute, symbolizing our continuing relationship and the importance Great Britain puts on it. Diplomatic gifts are a fine art at these rarified levels. They are heavy with symbolism, and convey much that is unspoken between peoples.
The President gave Brown a basket—that’s basket—of DVD’s of American movies. I’m sure it was a thoughtfully chosen collection which typifies the best of our movie industry. Never mind that England has its own robust industry of equal quality, creativity and professional traditions.
Mrs. Brown brought a collection of custom designed and made cloths for the Obama girls from some of England’s premier designers.
Mrs. Obama gave the Brown’s a couple models of Marine One, the Presidential Helicopter. I’m sure they have a crate of them in the basement somewhere.
Let’s recap, shall we? A set of pens from the Resolute, with the attendant symbolism one would expect at this level, and designer clothes, verses a bunch of DVDs (which are the wrong format for England—the Brown’s will not be able to watch them without substantial effort) and a couple Helicopter Models.
Alright—I’m sitting down. Feel free to get back to me and explain how all this is equitable and justified behavior for our Head of State.
Then, to add insult to injury Obama struck again. England presented President Bush with a bust of Winston Churchill shortly after 9-11. Again, this gift was one of two in the world, and carried significant symbolism carrying England’s commitment to stand with us in dire times. Barak told Brown he could take it back, we didn’t want it anymore. He actually stuck it in a box and insisted that Brown take it back with him, even after the Prime Minister carefully explained the significance of the gift and tried desperately to convince the President to keep it, or put it in a museum. This does not bode well for our relationship with Great Britain. Remember Obama assuring us that part of the change he was bringing with him was a new era of relations with our allies and the countries of the world? Strike One Mister President.
Does anyone wonder how England is reacting to all this? I did. Let’s take a look. H-m-m-m-m . . . oh my! Can you say that in print? Here’s a headline from the Telegraph today:

Barack Obama 'too tired' to give proper welcome to Gordon Brown
So what did the President do to salve over the mishandling of the visit.? Again, we go to the source:
Mr Obama rang Mr Brown as he flew home, in what many suspected was an attempt to make amends.
Are you serious? He called him after he left like a thirteen-year old kid? But it just gets better and better. Let’s see what a high-ranking Administration official had to say when questioned about the slight.
The real views of many in Obama administration were laid bare by a State Department official involved in planning the Brown visit, who reacted with fury when questioned by The Sunday Telegraph about why the event was so low-key.
The official dismissed any notion of the special relationship, saying: "There's nothing special about Britain. You're just the same as the other 190 countries in the world. You shouldn't expect special treatment." The apparent lack of attention to detail by the Obama administration is indicative of what many believe to be Mr Obama's determination to do too much too quickly.
I hope everyone is reading this correctly. These excerpts are written with massive doses of that polite restraint and understatement for which the English are famous. They are pissed. And rightfully so. Putin will get a better reception than this. So would Chavez I expect, if the President could figure out how to invite the guy over without inciting riots all over his new playground. And that’s what it is folks, a playground for an unskilled, overwhelmed, panicked kid. This administration is proving every day that it has no idea what the presidency is about, or how to run an official greeting, much less a country. Obama is “overwhelmed” after a month in office. And that’s according to his own staff.
The American source said: "Obama is overwhelmed. There is a zero sum tension between his ability to attend to the economic issues and his ability to be a proactive sculptor of the national security agenda.
"That was the gamble these guys made at the front end of this presidency and I think they're finding it a hard thing to do everything."
Say what you will about Bush (and I have), but it is unlikely that Obama will face anything like 9-11 on his watch, and everything that came with it from that day forward. I’d love to borrow Mr. Peabody’s Way-Back machine and insert President Obama into that classroom in Florida and watch him react when the Secret Service tells him that we are under attack and thousands of innocent citizens are dead. I no longer hold out any hope that this man has the mettle to take the reins and guide this country. And it only took a month. Granted, he does have a nasty recession to deal with, and the whole melt-down thing, as a gift from the previous administration. Isn’t he doing well with the solution? Printing two trillion dollars of fiat currency? Isn’t it interesting that while 60% of those polled are still giving the President good ratings (a slight drop), only 41% think his policies are going in the right direction to bring the country back to an even keel? What do you make of that?
Naturally I will continue to pray for him and his family, and that the current administration will be up to the challenge, despite the obvious fact that they were not, and are not, prepared. And I will support every policy that makes sound sense to me—as soon as I hear about one.