Obama's Gifts To Brown Irk British Media
President Barack Obama's gift of a set of DVDs to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown appalled the British media, furious about the lack of traditional protocol afforded to Brown while he was in Washington.
Iain Martin, a columnist and blogger for the Daily Telegraph, wrote that he found Obama to be rudeness personified toward Britain.
Martin tells NPR's Robert Siegel that Britons are used to a full news conference when their prime minister is in town.
"Only at the last moment was it agreed that there would be a small press conference, and, I think, it was read as a metaphor for the concern that Obama really just didn't like having the Brits in town," Martin says. "Yes, he's dealing with the biggest global crisis in 70 years.
"Still, it would have been nice if he could have welcomed Brown with just a hint more enthusiasm."
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