I Sure Hope PM Brown Likes Movies

While watching Glenn Beck on Monday, I learned an interesting news tidbit that I really haven't heard too much about elsewhere or since. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited Washington last week--his first visit (also the first of any world leader) to the White House since Obama took office. Since Theodore Roosevelt and Lord Salisbury crafted the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty in 1901, the U.S. and Great Britain are said to share in a "special relationship" that has typically been "on display" when the leader of one nation visits the other...it seems like it has developed into a rather ritualistic affair, of course most diplomatic visits probably are.

The treatment of PM Brown by Obama has already been widely criticized in the British media for its "coolness"--he broke tradition by not posing for a photo in front of the U.S. and UK flags with Brown; the customary press conference on the White House lawn was cancelled and replaced with a small affair; Obama did not invite Brown to Camp David, etc. While I can certainly understand how there might be some hurt feelings if these things are true since, whether one likes it or not, "ceremony" is important. What I found most interesting, however, were the reports of the traditional "exchange of gifts" between the Obamas and the Browns. I suppose it makes perfect sense that there would be such an exchange, not only between the U.S. and the UK, but also during any such visit. The selection of a gift is important, even more so I imagine if you are the leader of a country. Choosing the "wrong" gift could anger or embarrass the givee and reflects poorly on the giver. Now, as one would imagine, the types of gifts traditionally given in such exchanges are often rather grand and meaningful, showing that the giver took time and care to select them.

So...what gifts were exchanged between Obama and Brown during this visit? Here is what was given to the Obamas:

**An ornamental pen holder made of the timbers of the Victorian anti-slave ship HMS Gannet (an aside--there is a desk in the Oval Office made of wood from the Gannet's sister ship, HMS Resolute, that has been there since 1880)

**A framed commission of the above-mentioned HMS Resolute

**A first edition of the seven-volume biography of Winston Churchill by Sir Martin Gilbert

**The Obama children, Sasha and Malia, were each given an outfit from a fashionable British store called TopShop and a collection of six British children's books which have not yet been published in the U.S.

Whoever it was that actually chose/purchased these gifts, it is clear that care and thought was put into them...they were most certainly intended to be "special" to the recipients. Well then, one can only imagine then what sorts of gifts Obama chose to give (although, I admit it would be hard to beat the fur-lined leather bomber jacket that George W. Bush gave to Brown, who apparently subsequently refused it), right?

Well, not exactly...Obama chose to give Prime Minister Brown a box set of 25 "classic" American DVDs. Yup...that's right...granted, Obama reportedly specially commissioned the American Film Institute to produce this box set but c'mon...this is like the lame cop-out gift that you buy for your uncle because you can't figure out what else to get him. It would perhaps make a bit more sense if Brown was known as being a film buff, but he's not. Here's what was included in the set, since I'm sure you'll be curious:

Citizen Kane, The Godfather, Casablanca, Raging Bull, Singin' in the Rain, Gone With the Wind, Lawrence of Arabia, Schindler's List, Vertigo, The Wizard of Oz, City Lights, The Searchers, Star Wars: Episode IV, Psycho, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Sunset Boulevard, The Graduate, The General, On the Waterfront, It's a Wonderful Life, Chinatown, Some Like It Hot, The Grapes of Wrath, ET: The Extra-Terrestrial and To Kill a Mockingbird.

To make matters worse, the gift the Obamas presented to the Browns for their children (they have 2 sons--John and Fraser)--2 plastic models of the presidential helicopter, Marine One, from the White House gift shop. Seriously??!! I don't know about you, but I find this terribly embarrassing. You may think that the whole idea of "ritualistic" gift-giving is stupid or superficial, but I think part of good diplomacy is making a good first impression and nurturing a good personal relationship. I don't think that Obama got off to a good start with this one; if he didn't pick the stuff out, he seemed to think it was ok enough to give anyway. So, either he's the dunce or his staff is...neither is particularly good. I mean, at least they could have given Blu-Rays!

Just for fun--here's the jacket from W (photo from the UK Telegraph)