Obama's Foreign Policy... aka, Whatever...

Last week we saw the true nature of the Obama administration's naivete in foreign affairs. Man-O-Man, did we see them!

First, that bastion of decorum, that world traveled and oh so experienced Secretary Of State we now have... one Hillary Clinton, was trying to impress the Russians in Geneva. So she thought it would be cool to start over.

Her idea was to make a gift to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with a red "reset button" to symbolise improved ties... 'Starting Over'.
But, it didn't quite work out the way she had planned.

Clinton, Lavrov push wrong reset button on ties
GENEVA, March 6 (Reuters) -
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with a red "reset button" to symbolise improved ties, but the gift drew smiles as the word "reset" was mistranslated into the Russian for "overcharge".

"I would like to present you with a little gift that represents what President Obama and Vice President Biden and I have been saying and that is: 'We want to reset our relationship and so we will do it together," said Clinton, presenting Lavrov with a palm-sized yellow box with a red button.

Clinton joked to Lavrov: "We worked hard to get the right Russian word. Do you think we got it?"

"You got it wrong," said Lavrov, smiling as the two pushed the reset button together before dinner at a Geneva hotel.

He told Clinton the word "Peregruzka" meant "overcharge", to which Clinton replied: "We won't let you do that to us."

Yeah, Ok. First you mess up with the translation, then you further insult Lavrov by saying 'We won't let you do that to us'!

Not only do you get the translation wrong, but you tell him we're NOT going to make any deals with you that might be some kind of swindle!

What a diplomat! What an embarrassment!
But of course the MainStream Media just let it slide...
It was a sort of joke? Huh?
Recall this woman at once!

Then, when British PM Brown visits and expects a certain amount of protocol and decorum he not only gets snubbed, but he gets the Chicago ghetto treatment!

First Obama canceled the traditional press speech in the Rose Garden.

White House cancels Brown press conference in Rose Garden
Gordon Brown's attempts to portray himself as a global leader in a time of crisis have been dealt a blow by White House planners - and Washington's worst snowstorm in years.

Downing Street officials discovered last night that Prime Minister would not, as had been widely reported, hold a joint press conference with President Obama after their talks at the White House today.

Instead, the White House press office announced what it called a "pool spray" - a few shouted questions from selected agency reporters as the two men sat down for talks and photographers clicked away.

After representations from British diplomats, it was agreed to hold open it up more widely and allow a total of four questions - two from each side - at a "press availability" in the Oval Office after the talks.

British officials, denying any deliberate snub, said that a slightly more formal event planned in the Rose Garden after the meeting had been cancelled because the grounds of the White House are blanketed in snow.

After a working lunch with Mr Brown, Mr Obama will then head off to make a speech at the Department of the Interior before meeting a delegation at the Boy Scouts of America, the White House said. If Mr Brown wanted to hold a press conference, he would have to do so across town at the British Embassy.

No 10 had been celebrating a diplomatic success in ensuring that Mr Brown becomes the first European leader received by Mr Obama in the White House – an honour closely sought by President Sarkozy of France and Angela Merkel, the Germany Chancellor.

Although Mr Obama is by no means as anglophile as his predecessors – he has already returned a bust of Winston Churchill that sat in the Oval Office under President Bush – Mr Brown is hoping to be able to demonstrate a "special partnership" between Britain and the United States.

So, Did Obama snub PM Brown or not?

Here's what The Mail had to say about it.

Then there's this:

Some British Media Say Obama Snubbed Prime Minister; U.S. Lawmakers Unsure
By Josiah Ryan, Staff Writer

After British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, lawmakers told CNSNews.com they were unsure if the Obama administration had “snubbed” Brown – as several British newspapers reported Tuesday – but said that as the leader of America’s closest ally, Brown should have been treated with the utmost courtesy.

British newspapers covering Brown’s visit to Washington, D.C., reported Tuesday that the White House had snubbed Brown by canceling a live Rose Garden press conference and omitting state dinners and receptions that are traditional events for visiting foreign dignitaries.

“I am sure he was shown the proper amount of hospitality,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), told CNSNews.com. “I am sure the president had his reasons [for canceling the press conference and omitting a formal dinner] though I am not very well acquainted with international protocol or how the president hosted Prime Minister Brown.”

“I think the reception that counts is not simply the formality of the White House but the reception here [in the Capitol], and it was fantastic,” said Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), who also told CNSNews.com he was unaware of reports that the White House had snubbed Brown. The Independent, a British newspaper, headlined a story Tuesday, “Brown Faces Humiliation after Obama Snub.”

“The joint presser is usually a given on these trips, so this is odd,” wrote Benedict Brogan, who blogged about Brown’s trip for The Daily Mail. "It may be the White House wants to avoid the bunfight that must come with Mr. Obama's every appearance.

But no press conference? Embarrassing.”
“Snow Scuppers Brown’s Hopes in DC,” The Financial Times said in a headline.

But, according to a BBC report on Tuesday, No. 10 Downing Street dismissed allegations that the White House had been inhospitable to Brown – and the White House claimed that the formal press conference, originally planned to take place outdoors, had been moved indoors because of “snow.”

Instead, Brown and Obama fielded reporters’ questions in a taped session known as a “pool spray” in the Oval Office.

In Brown’s 2007 visit to the United States, his first visit as prime minister, Bush invited him to Camp David where the leaders met for hours and addressed the media in a joint press conference.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who shared a close relationship with Bush, also received a warm welcome from President Clinton, who ordered a 19-gun salute to mark Blair’s 1998 visit.

During Brown’s latest visit, there was no formal dinner or reception, though Obama and Brown shared a “working lunch” in the Old Family Dining Room at the White House on Tuesday...

Sounds like a snub to me? What about you?

And, here's more:

The Not-So-Special Relationship: Why Obama Snubbed Gordon Brown
The exchange of gifts seemed to say it all: for Barack Obama, an ornamental pen holder carved from the timbers of the HMS Gannet, a British naval vessel that took part in the battle to end the slave trade; for Gordon Brown, a box set of classic American movies on DVD.

Personally, I’m a big fan of giving DVD box sets as presents.

Not only are they cheap, but they look impressive on a bookshelf and can be handily purchased at short notice, due to the fact that they’re piled high in stores that can’t get rid of them.

In other words, they’re the perfect last-minute gift for someone you can’t be bothered to expend much time, money or effort on.

Maybe it was laziness on the part of the White House, or maybe it simply reflects the fact the Obama belongs to a generation that attaches more historical and emotional significance to movies than to antiques, however symbolic.

Nonetheless, the British press, eager to latch on to any evidence of Obama delivering a “snub” to Brown, was suitably miffed.

Neither Downing Street nor the White House has confirmed which movies were in the collection, but it’s thought to include The Grapes of Wrath, the movie of John Steinbeck’s Great Depression novel.

Commentators have drawn obvious parallels between that movie and the current economic climate, but those looking for allegorical rather than literal associations might find another film said to be on the list more interesting: Sunset Boulevard, the story of a faded star hooking up with a younger man in the hopes of resurrecting her career...

A box set of DVD? WTF?
Those DVD;s won't even play in Britain! They're coded for geographic location to prevent piracy! I suspect that was all Michell could find in The White House Gift Shop?

But this isn't the first snub from the Omaba Administration:

Obama Snubs Nation's Heroes, Becomes the First President to Skip Ball Honoring Medal of Honor Recipients in Over 50 Years

Barack Obama may have stumbled over his words briefly during his inauguration, but he made an even bigger blunder later Tuesday evening.

The newly sworn-in President opted not to appear at what should have been one of the most important Balls on his agenda that evening - The Salute to Heroes Inaugural Ball.

The Salute to Heroes Inaugural Ball was begun in 1953 for President Dwight Eisenhower's inauguration.

The event recognized recipients of the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award. There were 48 Medal of Honor recipients in attendance, who were undoubtedly disappointed by the Commander-in-Chief's failure to show.

Over the past 56 years and 14 inaugurations, no President has skipped this event - until now.

The Salute to Heroes Inaugural Ball is sponsored by the American Legion, and co-sponsored by 13 other veteran's service organizations, including those such as the Paralyzed Veterans of America and the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

Instead of attending this ball honoring our nation's heroes, Obama was busy making stops at 10 other official balls. Obama and his wife's first stop was at the Neighborhood Ball.

From there they went to the Home State Ball for Illinois and Hawaii, the Commander-in-Chief Ball, the Youth Inaugural Ball, and the Home State Ball for Delaware and Pennsylvania. They finished off the night with brief appearances at the Mid-Atlantic, Western, Midwest, Eastern, and Southern regional Balls.

So, now we know what is really impoortant in the Obama Administration. Having parties, going to balls, flouting their new-found oppulance, and being very dis-respectful to our greatest ally in the free world!

If you're so inclined, you can writh the British embassy and appoligize for our leader's rude behavior.

The British Embassy
3100 Massachusetts Ave. , NW
Washington, DC
2008

Arrogance and naievte on display.
Chicago politics as usual...

And this is what you voted for?