Obama and Churchill, part 2

Just adding links to more commentary on the Obama snubbing of PM Gordon Brown and his family. This, like the teleprompter story, speaks volumes about who this man is. And again, as with the economy, people wonder if these were deliberate acts, or more blundering.

Gateway Pundit Obama Stiffs Brits (suggestions for future gifts from the Browns to the Obamas)
The Patriot Room: Michelle O's gift to the Brown boys was less than wonderful, and vastly inferior to the gifts her girls received from Mrs. Brown.
HotAir: Obama the Cheapskate
The Telegraph: Lady Macbeth Did It?
Iain Murray: Ignored or Dissed?
Mark Hemingway: He's Just Not That Into the Special Relationship
Jonah Goldberg: Shunning Albion
Mark Steyn quotes some experts who point out that Obama is not a fan of the West. Then he adds this, which I also find convincing:

The simpler explanation, which I find more persuasive, is that he's just too narcissistic: He's the star and these foreign prime ministers are rather dreary extras. And unfortunately he's not a good enough actor to conceal his lack of interest in them. And his courtiers take pretty much the same line, which is why it never occurred to them that some no-name Brit would be insulted at not getting the multi-flagged joint presser.

(For what it's worth, I heard similar reports of the president's remoteness on his flying visit to Ottawa, where the only person he seemed to get any kind of kick out of was Her Majesty's vicereine, Michaelle Jean, who happens to be a fine-looking woman, if you're into leftie babes.)

Obama's narcissism is a subject dear to my heart, but I digress.

Lastly, great background on the HMS Gannet (source of wood from which the pen set was made) from the Heritage Foundation via Powerline:

But HMS Gannet was not, as a casual reader might guess, employed against the trade of slaves from Africa to the New World, and since it was built in 1878, it has nothing to do with Lincoln or slavery in the United States. It sailed the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, patrolling against Islamist slavers. In the Red Sea, the Africans it saved would have come, among other places, from Kenya. Obama has made mention of his grandfather’s antipathy to Britain, stemming from his experiences in colonial Kenya. It is quite possible that grandfather’s ancestors would, had it not been for the Royal Navy, have been carried away to slavery in Arabia.

Updated to add this interesting take from a shopping blog (!):
The Obamas' First Diplomatic Gaffe

Original post from 3/3/09:
Obama returns Churchill bust to Brits

Rush mentioned this today. My children were telling me about it later. It went something like this:

12 year old: "Hey, maybe he could replace it with a statue of that guy who gave land to Hitler. . ."
17 year old: "Neville Chamberlain?"
12 year old: "Yeah, him!"

Obama snubs Gordon Brown.

Updated to add the list of movies in the collection:



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