The Gifts We Give
Turnabout is fair play.
The Liberals had a heyday with George W. Bush. According to them, he was everything from just plain stupid, to a military deserter, to a traitor. But it seems Mr. Bush at least had a sense of decorum that Obama can’t match.
Last week, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown paid a State visit to President Obama. The normal protocol is to present each other with a gift. So, consider this: Two of the world’s most powerful men meeting together and exchanging gifts as a sign of good will and mutual admiration. Prime Minister Brown offered three very excellent gifts that symbolized the historic nature of Obama’s Presidency–a desk pen holder crafted from an anti-slavery ship, the HMS Gannet; the framed commission of the HMS Resolute, the timbers of which were used to construct the desk in the Oval Office; and a first edition of the seven-volume biography of Winston Churchill. Any one of these gifts alone carries great symbolic and historical value. The three together are a priceless treasure.
In return for this magnificent boon, Obama presented Mr. Brown with a 25 DVD collection of American Classic Movies.
Forgive me if I seem underwhelmed.
Actually, I’m embarrassed. I believe that character is reflected in the gifts we give. A poor gift says we are more concerned with ourselves than we are with the recipient; too caught up in our own troubles to give any serious thought to a gift that would be well-received.
A good gift expresses respect and admiration for the person getting it. Likewise, the gift itself says a lot about what is important to the giver. Mr. Obama’s pathetic gift is readily available at your local Wal-Mart. By contrast, try finding any of Mr. Brown’s gifts there.
Mr. Brown’s gift speaks to our common history, and of our shared resolve to make the world a better place.
Mr. Obama’s gift speaks to commonness, mediocrity, and making things appear to be what they are not.
I recall during the campaign Obama was critical of Americans who go to Europe, but can’t even say “Merci, beaucoup.” (He completely slaughtered the pronunciation, by the way.) Obama’s cheap gift is the equivalent of someone saying “mercy buckup.”
Obama is a pretender. He is not ready for this high office; he is way out of his league. But he has surrounded himself with sycophants who work to keep up appearances, and are tearing the country apart to do it. And frankly, he is an embarrassment to America. Other countries are beginning to realize what we are now beginning to realize–this guy is low-class.
Mark Steyn wrote a great column about Obama’s overinflated ego. Read it here.
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March 10th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Good post with a great conclusion it’s right on target. Obama is low-class.
My opinion is Obama did this on purpose this SNUB was not naivete or inexperience. Instead Obama wanted to show all that he is in charge. From his actions Obama wants to make clear that British friendship and cooperation in things like terrorism and foreign policy – well that was the Bush policy Obama is not interested in continuing it. Obama does not need the British he resents them.