To my special friend Gordon, 25 DVDs: Obama gives Brown a set of classic movies.

[Llamafighter]

Originally Posted by Neezar

Name one!




Listen, if you have a man who is going blind and you buy him movies then unless the man has requested them I think it is in very poor taste. Most people who have devastating medical issues where a loss is occuring like that have a hard time dealing with it or at the very least are a bit sensitive about it.

We had a friend who lost a leg in a wreck. That would be like us buying him a bicycle and saying, "You need to learn how to ride that bike with one leg and enjoy it while you still can!"

Come one now, that's not the same...

A friend growing up whowas blind since birth used to go to the movies and always loved talking about films. He came to 'see" me in plays in high school and stuff too.

I get your point, I missd the part about the partial blindness.

So it wasn't a great gift, big freaking deal. Maybe they had some sort of deal like: "You commit 10,000 troops to afganistan and you get the classic DVD series. Commit 50, 000 and you get a pen of historical value to your history".

;)

[Jonlion]

Originally Posted by NateR

Well, it's not the money, it's the thought that counts and clearly there was no thought. There's no evidence that Prime Minister Brown is a movie buff. Also, 25 DVDs would run about $500 with current prices. They could have put that towards something a little more appropriate for our greatest ally. British soldiers are dying right alongside Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan, this gift combined with the lack of press coverage for the PM's visit, is a slap in the face to Britain.

[rockdawg21]

I don't even see how anybody could think that gift is appropriate. They're our allies in a war on terror. The PM gave the Obama family something to commemorate their achievement of being the first black Presidential family, and what'd they give him in return, some DVD's and some helicopter toys. Where's the thought and compassion in that? Then when his people were questioned about the crummy gift, they stated he was busy. Right now, the Brits are incredibly upset and irked by Obama's thoughtlessness. NateR said it best:

Originally Posted by NateR

Well, it's not the money, it's the thought that counts and clearly there was no thought. There's no evidence that Prime Minister Brown is a movie buff. Also, 25 DVDs would run about $500 with current prices. They could have put that towards something a little more appropriate for our greatest ally. British soldiers are dying right alongside Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan, this gift combined with the lack of press coverage for the PM's visit, is a slap in the face to Britain.

From a British blogger:

Gordon Brown's trip to visit Barack Obama was of no great significance, but what has got the UK media talking is the disparity between the thought and imagination put into Gordon Brown's gifts to Barack Obama and his family, and what Obama gave in return.

Gifts from Gordon Brown to Barack Obama:
- an ornamental desk pen holder made from the oak timbers of Victorian anti-slavery Naval vessel HMS Gannet;
- framed commission for HMS Resolute, a vessel that came to symbolise Anglo-US peace when it was saved from ice packs by Americans;
- first edition set of the seven-volume classic biography of Churchill by Sir Martin Gilbert.

Barack Obama's gift to Gordon Brown:

- A 25 DVD set of classic American films including ET, Psycho and Lawrence of Arabia (barely American at all of course). The Daily Mail has the whole list.

Gifts to Malia and Sasha Obama:

- a TopShop dress for each of the daughters and matching necklace;
- Six books by British childrens' authors as yet unpublished in the USA;

Gifts to Fraser and John Brown:

- Two models of the Presidential helicopter Marine One, apparently identical to ones available on Amazon.com at US$15 each.

As Iain Martin in the Daily Telegraph says "Oh, give me strength. We do have television and DVD stores on this side of the Atlantic. Even Gordon Brown will have seen those films too often already." Anyone could have compiled that gift given half an hour on Amazon.com or in a major music/DVD shop.

One suggestion is that the DVDs may even be for Region 1 NTSC format for the US, not playable on a standard DVD player in the UK, I wouldn't be surprised.

On the gift to the Browns' children, the Times suggests it was a last minute purchase "having an aide pop to the White House gift shop for a piece of merchandising does not imply a great deal of thought" and more telling that the one official photo showing Sarah Brown and Michelle Obama meeting is hardly flattering, and may indicate how frosty the exchange was.

Of course if Bush had done it, we'd (rightfully) never hear the end of it (such as when Bush gave Brown a jacket)

It's a minor gaffe, but one helluva insult to the United Kingdom and Gordon Brown. Maybe it's because the new US Administration has aides who are thoughtless and unimaginative, but for Obama to accept a series of thoughtful generous gifts from the UK taxpayer and to give something as common and meaningless as a DVD pack is in astonishingly bad taste.

Gordon's thought, "I'm going to give Obama something to commemorate the historic event of the first black family to live in the White House!"

Obama's thought, "I'm going to give Gordon something to commemorate his loss of vision, oh, and he has kids, let's get them some helicopter toys."

Originally Posted by rockdawg21

I don't even see how anybody could think that gift is appropriate. They're our allies in a war on terror. The PM gave the Obama family something to commemorate their achievement of being the first black Presidential family, and what'd they give him in return, some DVD's and some helicopter toys. Where's the thought and compassion in that? Then when his people were questioned about the crummy gift, they stated he was busy. Right now, the Brits are incredibly upset and irked by Obama's thoughtlessness. NateR said it best:

From a British blogger:


Gordon's thought, "I'm going to give Obama something to commemorate the historic event of the first black family to live in the White House!"

Obama's thought, "I'm going to give Gordon something to commemorate his loss of vision, oh, and he has kids, let's get them some helicopter toys."

I think after reading this thread again this morning I missed the symbolic nature of two world leaders exchanging gifts.

Yesterday when I skimmed this thread it seemed like people were being pretty petty and jumping on Hussein for no reason... stupid gift, possibly the wrong region... = whatever.....


But after reading some more posts in here and mostly that British blogger I see it differently.


It's really kind of embarrassing for the U.S.A when you think about it...

[Neezar]

Originally Posted by Chuck

It's really kind of embarrassing for the U.S.A when you think about it...

Yes, it is. And it pisses me off. I don't want to feel I owe anything to any Brit!




Dave or Jon, get us Mr. Brown's address. We shall send him a proper US gift.

[Neezar]

I am embarrassed for Obama and his family. I hope someone got fired for that!

Originally Posted by Neezar

Dave or Jon, get us Mr. Brown's address. We shall send him a proper US gift.

Like CROCS!!!!!!!!

[Llamafighter]

Originally Posted by Chuck

Like CROCS!!!!!!!!

The gift that keeps on giving!

Obama actually gave the British people their favorite thing in the world:
Scandal!!!!!

[Jonlion]

Originally Posted by Neezar

Yes, it is. And it pisses me off. I don't want to feel I owe anything to any Brit!




Dave or Jon, get us Mr. Brown's address. We shall send him a proper US gift.

10 Downing Street! I can hand deliver it, next week when my girlfriend and her friend come over from america as i'll be taking them past there!

I mean to clear it up from my end, its not a huge thing here, we are not irrepairably hurt or insulted, its just a slap in the face really.

For us, Britain has taken a lot of flak from the rest of the world for having you as our allies. I wouldn't change that for the world because i want you as our alllies and it is only lefites and jealous europeans that chastise us for beign allies but considering how we have shown mutaul solidarity and per ratio, Britain is only behind USA for troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan then you would expect a more thoughtful gift.

I mean, We went all out for our one, and 25 DVD's well, as Nate says, its not the expense its the lack of thought. It does seem rushed.

I am not a huge fan of Gordon Brown but i feel for him at times and this further undermines his posistion, on a domestic front he desperatly needs America to take to him as much as they did to Blair.

Originally Posted by rockdawg21

Just you wait. When Stephen Harper comes here, we're going to give him a box of DVD cases! That's my next gift to Obama, so you can be sure that's what he will regift to PM Harper, hahaha!!!!!!

you know what?
Most Americans couldn't find Canada on a map let a lone tell you who the PM is,,(and yes Neezar if the shoe fits)so i am very impressed,

now as far as the gift Obama will bestow upon Harper if he ever actually gets an invitation to meet with him?

well lets just say he would have a hard time getting under the one that was given to him when he visited us here a couple of weeks ago,

you see when Obama was on his way out of town he stopped off at a market to buy some cookies,
and when he tried to purchase the cookies with a Canadian 20 dollar bill the shop owner said,
oh no Mr. President, i can not accept that,we just dont take that funny money here,sorry,
do you have any American money on you though?
although these were very prestigious cookies(shaped like a maple leaf as i recall)Obama just stood there with a look of disbelief,after a few awkward moments went by the shop owner realized the President wasn't ever going to part with any of his American money so he finally said,never mind,the cookies are on me,just make sure you give them to your daughters,

so you see,it will be very hard to top that,(or bottom that,how ever you want to look at it)
but good luck just the same.