By:Iain Martin,Daily Telegraph
Obama wants and audience with Queen Elizabeth
President Obama has been rudeness personified towards Britain this week. His handling of the visit of the Prime Minister,Gordon Brown,to Washington was appalling. First Brown wasn’t granted a press conference with flags,then one was hastily arranged in the Oval office after the Brits had to beg. Obama looked like he would rather have been anywhere else than welcoming the British leader to his office and topped it all with his choice of present (*) for the PM. A box of 25 DVDS including ET,the Wizard of Oz and Star Wars? 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.
This was coupled with Michelle Obama’s casual choice of gifts for the Brown sons –matching models of the helicopter which ferry her husband around. While Sarah Brown had spent time choosing gifts for the Obama girls,Michelle had clearly sent an aide to the White House gift shop at the last moment.
All in all,he doesn’t think much of us,as I explained in my post here earlier this week.
But what’s this? Something,suddenly,seems to have made the Obama White House perk up and start to take an interest in the Brits. The Queen has invited the President to tea when he’s here for the G20 in April. And he’s in through the front door of Buckingham Palace faster than a Harley Davidson roaring along Route 66.