In the course of rigorous scrutiny and discussion regarding the new administration's leadership and policy, there have been and will be countless opportunities to apply insightful adjectives to our glorious leader, some positive, some negative. I never thought "tacky" would be one of them.
There occurred in American foreign policy two gift faux pas in one day - bungled gifts to the Russians and the British.
The administration demonstrated what the minority of Americans already knew: they're amateurs. British Prime Minister Brown praised America in his Joint Address to Congress describing us as an "inspiration" and admiring the partnership between the UK and the U.S. as "unbreakable," declaring that "no power on Earth can ever draw [them] apart."
Brown and Obama exchanged gifts last week as a testament to tradition when a new U.S. Administration takes over. Brown provided Obama with an ornamental pen holder, made from the timbers of the anti-slave ship HMS Gannet - the sister ship to that of which the oval office desk was made from, the HMS Resolute, as well as a first edition set of the seven volume biography of Winston Churchill. These gifts were nice, historic and "priceless;" symbolizing the U.S.-Anglo alliance.
However, the thoughtful gesture did not seem to be reciprocated. In turn, Obama was seemingly less generous and thoughtful in his gift giving. Our leader presented the British Head of Government with 25 classic American films on DVD. Not only is Brown known to be less than a film buff, he's blind in the left eye. I always believed that true gift-giving, although everybody says "it's the thought that counts," is supposed to please the recipient. On top of this, Obama chose to forego the usual joint press conference and unceremoniously returned the bust of Churchill, which was given to the Bush Administration post Sept. 11.
What of the rhetoric about improving how the world views America during his campaign? A DVD set is what you would give your family or friends, not a G8 leader. But maybe it shouldn't have been unexpected. As a former "community organizer," Obama has sufficiently demonstrated that he knows nothing about the basics of foreign policy and relations.
On the other hand, Obama has been speaking out against "frivolous spending" for months now. Perhaps the point was to give the prime minister a gift representing some of the best America has to offer entertainment-wise instead of an overpriced trinket in the midst of an economic crisis.
But what of Hillary Clinton's blunder? The secretary of state visited with Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergei Lavrov, as a gesture designed to reconstruct relations between the two countries that had, in recent years, grown somewhat testy. What was suppose to be a play on Biden's remark that it is "time to press the reset button on Russian-American relations," the gift Clinton presented was embarrassing. Clinton presented the Lavrov with a box with a button on it and a sign that read "reset" in Russian, or at least that's what the Americans thought it said. Instead they used the word that means "overcharge."
One should question if these diplomats are a bit out of their league. They've demonstrated their inexperience by assuming that the U.S.-Russian interests will change overnight with the simple push of a button.
It makes you wonder what other interesting bloopers we'll enjoy during the next four years. The only thing is, somebody will have to come up with another euphemism similar to that of a "Bush-ism."
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