The Obamas' First Diplomatic Gaffe
Posted on March 6, 2009
Well, we certainly hope someone gets fired over this one. The Obamas are having to move quickly to make amends for their first diplomatic gaffe. There are people whose jobs are solely to advise the president and first lady about all the complicated protocol that attends any meeting between two world leaders. That protocol includes gift giving between heads of state. The gifts are also considered gifts to the people of that nation, so when the gifts are poorly-chosen, one can end up offending an entire country.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown put a great deal of thought into the gifts given to President Obama and Mrs. Brown went out of her way to choose special items for Sasha and Malia. What they got in return was so cheap and awful that it has the British press seething at the perceived snub by its closest ally.Gordon Brown gave Barack an ornamental pen holder made from the timbers of the Victorian anti-slave ship HMS Gannet. The oak from the Gannet's sister ship, HMS Resolute, was carved into a desk that has been displayed in the White House since 1880. But that's not all. Mr. Brown also gave President Obama a framed commission for HMS Resolute and a first edition of the seven-volume biography of Churchill by Sir Martin Gilbert.
Mr. Obama gave Mr. Brown a set of 25 DVDs of American movies. Mr. Brown is not a movie buff, to say the least. Mr. Brown clearly tried to save our president some embarrassment by refusing to tell the press what President Obama gave him: he knew the press would fillet his new friend. But the British press found out anyway and have been running headline stories over the insult. It didn't help that Obama sent a famous bust of Winston Churchill back to the British Embassy from which it had been on loan, which set of a flurry of British fury. But it gets worse: Obama canceled the formal Rose Garden ceremony that is traditional when a major ally comes to visit. The British papers have been going nuts over this, suggesting that America and Britain's close relationship has been severely damaged.
Now, on to Mrs. Obama's gaffe. She met with Mrs. Brown and from all accounts the women got on just fine. Mrs. Brown personally picked out outfits with matching necklaces from Topshop for Sasha and Malia, and also gave them six children's books by British authors which haven't yet been published in the U.S. What did Mrs. Brown's two boys get? Two plastic helicopters from the White House gift shop. Worse, one was of Marine One which the Times took as a direct insult.
In return Mrs Obama gave the Brown children, Fraser and John, two toy models of Marine One, the Presidential helicopter. Fair enough on the helicopter part, always a popular choice with small boys; but Marine One? It's not as though anyone needs reminding that Barack Obama is President or that he has his own helicopter. Short of giving the boys Action Man models of her own husband smiting the evil forces of neoconservatism, Mrs Obama's gesture could not have been more solipsistic or more inherently dismissive of Mrs Brown.Ouch. They even hated the photo that the White House released. Well, to be fair, it's a terrible photo. What? Pete Souza couldn't take a photo from a different angle? This is the only photo the British press received of its first lady meeting the amazing Michelle Obama and you can barely see her face. Apparently no British photographers were allowed in the room.
And now for the exciting denouement of this international incident. President Obama quickly realized that his intentions had been totally misconstrued and has been working overtime to correct the impression that he snubbed Gordon Brown. He made a special call to the Prime Minister to thank him for his visit, then -- in an unusual step -- released a summary of the contents of that call to the press. During the call President Obama said how much he loved the gifts he received and detailed where he has displayed them in the White House where visitors can see them. Here's the statement:
The President called Prime Minster Brown today at approximately 3:00pm. In a call that lasted about 10 minutes, the President congratulated the Prime Minister on his speech to Congress and expressed his appreciation for a very productive visit. The President also thanked the Prime Minister for the gifts he presented to him: a pen holder carved from the timbers of the HMS Gannet, which was a sister ship of the HMS Resolute, and first edition biography of Winston Churchill. The President noted that the pen set is being displayed on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office and the books are in the Presidents personal study adjoining the Oval Office. The President and the Prime Minister discussed that the First Lady and Mrs. Brown had a warm and personal visit, as well. The President closed the conversation by stating that he looked forward to seeing the Prime Minister in London in early April.It's a good thing that this happened early in the administration. Perceived snubs between world leaders can have major diplomatic repercussions. It seems clear to us that this was not an intentional snub: this was flat out incompetence by the Obamas' protocol office. We think someone should get fired over this incident and a new protocol officer hired who knows what he or she is doing.
The Obamas will be meeting Queen Elizabeth in April. Already the British papers are full of spoofs about how President Obama will no doubt present her with a cheap CD collection of music she can't stand.
We say: let's make sure we present the Queen with a tasteful gift that shows the Obamas put some thought into it. Do some research. It doesn't have to be an expensive gift: that's not the point. The point is that it is a gesture of respect and goodwill from the American people to the British people. And right now we need all the international allies we can get to help put the world economy back on track.