Did it ever occur to anyone that Gordon Brown maybe a film buff..

[Peacetrain]

and the gift of film classics the "perfect" gift for him? I cannot believe people are putting so much juice into the fact that the President gave Brown a collection of films.. and think it was a bad gift..

There is a lot of angst over this gift thingy..

:shrug:

[Lars39]

1. Why yes.... :^)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8251260&mesg_id=8251601

[Peacetrain]

4. Thank you..

:)..missed that thread..

[eleny]

6. A terrific list!

[merh]

2. freepers wouldn't say a word if it were a collection of St. Raygun films

;)

[originalpckelly]

3. You know what? I think we have more important things to talk about...

rather what one powerful guy gave to another power guy. It might be of some interest if it was a sex toy, but beyond that not much.

Just more bullshit that's distracting us from the pressing issue of being near permanent second-class citizens.

[Captain Hilts]

5. Yes, and he isn't. He occasionally watches sport on television. nt

[babylonsister]

9. Link? Says who? nt

[Mojorabbit]

10. I saw it in an article

posted earlier today. I suck at search or else I would try and find it for you.

[babylonsister]

11. OK.

Thanks. and who cares, really? President Obama didn't have a piece of wood or history he could capture to carve a pen into a symbol of bipartisanship that what's hisface did.

:D

[Captain Hilts]

18. He's blind in one eye and not so much into 'visual' entertainment.

Not a news flash.

[LynnTheDem]

7. Ya'll were warned; the "big guns" of the rightwingnuttery are out

in force.

And this is all they got???

The UK Telegraph is a rightwingnut piece of trash. Consider the source and let's move on! The fucking nation is burning.

[liberalmuse]

8. Who cares?

It was a very gracious and well thought out gift. What a stupid thing for the right to focus on, on both sides of the Atlantic, but then again, if they didn't focus on stupid and inconsequential shit, they'd have nothing.

[amandabeech]

12. I have to disagree. I see these gifts as extremely symbolic.

Gordon Brown represents the U.K., our most steadfast ally for years. They've been by our side, right or wrong. We stand by them, too. It's a nasty world out there, and there is something to be said for loyal friends. George W. Bush should have listened to them much more often.

It looks like Her Majesty's Government took this as an occasion to signify continued loyalty and friendship with a new and welcomed administration in a time of real global stress and probable increased strife. One must only take note of the ugly shootings in Northern Ireland and the declaration of marshal law in Ciudad Juarez. I welcome their offer of continued friendship.

The British obviously took much care in their idea and execution of the gift--they've probably been thinking about it for months and Obama gave them the opening with his choice of the Resolute desk. The pen holder is a true companion to that desk, having been carved from the timbers of Resolute's sister ship which was also employed by the British navy against illegal slavers at a time when slavery was legal here. It's late, but I believe that the desk was given to FDR by Churchill--please correct me, if I'm wrong. Obama was reportedly, and rightly, enchanted. The gift spoke to him directly and to the nation as a whole. He and we should be honored.

The videos were nice, but generic and commercially available. Perhaps something comparable would have been a letter from our national archives from a prominent president during a turbulent time, remarking on our national friendship with the U.K. over the many years. Unfortunately, relations between the Union and the U.K. during Lincoln's presidency were touch and go because the British needed the Confederate cotton and were prevented from getting it by the Union's successful blockade. Something from FDR would have been appropriate and genuinely appreciated, I'm sure. It might also have settled any feathers ruffled by the removal of the Churchill bust, even though a new placement for the former Prime Minister was entirely understandable under the circumstances.

I'm sure that the Obama administration didn't mean to use the somewhat rushed-appearing gift as an expression of any personal questions coming from the President himself as to any treatment of his grandfather by any British colonial authorities some time ago, as Freepers allege. That is a scurrilous and dangerous charge of using the Presidency to satisfy a personal vendetta that should be condemned by everyone, liberal, moderate or conservative.

When Obama makes his first state visit to the U.K., and I'm sure that an invitation would be forthcoming as soon as it might be accepted, he and his staff undoubtedly will find something meaningful and singular to present to their hosts that will be beyond any reproach. However, I have to agree with those who think that the video collection, however much I personally would love to have it, fell a bit short for the occasion.

[TahitiNut]

13. What "film buff" wouldn't already have 25 of the top 100 American films of the last 100 years???

Color me perplexed. :dunce:

[amandabeech]

14. It's not really a personal thing when it's between the Prime Minister and the President.

It is as much about the two nations as it is about the two individuals, particularly for the British in this case. In this case, it's like the protocol officers on each side were not singing from the same hymnal, so to speak, and everyone noticed, probably including people who don't like either of the singers very much. This is diplomacy, and symbol and form are a lot bigger than in real life.

The Brown administration and the permanent bureaucracy there obviously saw this a major state occasion with that gift, as I tried to explain and apparently failed, above. Combining the personal with the national and historic in that gift was brilliant in my estimation. Whoever came up with that should be knighted along with Teddy.

The Obama administration, on the other hand, treated the gift exchange much more casually. I would have been delighted with the videos personally, and maybe PM Brown is--if he wasn't he'd never say so. On the other hand, it didn't take a lot of thought. It doesn't appear that it was the President and First Lady's personal selection of great American movies tailored to Mr. Brown's taste with an eye toward the British-American historical relationship, for example, with a one-of-a-kind presentation package and letter from the President and First Lady explaining their choices.

It's like giving your significant other a Valentine's gift that relates to something special about your relationship when your s.o. gives you a generic sweater from Target. Even if your s.o. is just an unimaginative shopper, it still might feel like the relationship doesn't mean that much to him or her. And your friends and enemies will notice, too, which in international relations, is a bad thing if the wrong message is sent.

As I wrote above, I'm sure that the Obamas will come up with something nifty when they're the honored guest in Britain.

On Edit: Ignore the above. I totally misread your post. I'm sorry. I'm only leaving this up because it explains what I think I failed to do in my first post on the subject.

[saltpoint]

15. Uncle Jack, God rest his soul, would have said "If the son-of-a-bitch isn't

a film buff, he should be."

It was a great present from Obama to Brown. I hope the Prime Minister appreciates it.

[rucky]

16. Nothing about DVD-Gate has occurred to me at all.

it's a non-story.

[NNN0LHI]

17. Oh my, this is terrible

It breaks my heart.

No, really.

Don