03.01.2009 0

King for a Day

  • On: 03/09/2009 12:29:49
  • In: Barack Obama
  • By Carter Clews

    The November 4th election gave us the 44th President of the United States. We’ve everything from “The Great Emancipator,” to “The Great Conciliator, to “The Great Communicator,” to “The Great Dissimulator,” parsing what is, is.

    But it has now become abundantly clear that Barack Obama envisions an entirely new kind of Presidency – an imperial Presidency. A Presidency presided over by a budding monarch with barely concealed contempt for all who enter his realm. He is indeed, The Great Potentator.” As evidenced in His Highnesses’ behavior while enduring the presence of one Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of Great Britain.

    By word and deed, Mr. Obama made it clear that he truly hates dealing with mere mortals like Prime Minister Gordon Brown – though he is eager, of course, to accept an invitation from the British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, for tea. Evidently has something to do with the rites of peerage.

    At any rate, the snub of Prime Minister Brown was arrogant, foolish – and embarrassing. It reduced the United States to the level of a backwater Podunk, where appropriate behavior is considered “puttin’ on airs” and civility is “high faluntin.” All Obama needed to complete his portrayal of boorish rube was his jogging suit and backwards baseball cap.

    Lest anyone missed the insolent Obama’s performance par decadence, here it is in sum, taken from a shocked observer whose manners, while not always impeccable, are certainly above bedrock backwater (prepare to blush):

    “President Obama on Thursday gave British Prime Minister Gordon Brown a set of 25 classic American movies to mark his historic visit to the White House.

    “Brown, the first European leader to visit Obama since his Jan. 20 inauguration, was presented with a “Special Collector’s Box” of DVDs during his two-day visit to Washington.

    “Downing Street, which reportedly tried to keep the present a secret, declined to say what movies were included in the set.

    “’One reason for the secrecy might be that the gift seems markedly less generous and thoughtful than the presents taken to Washington by the Prime Minister,’ London’s Evening Standard newspaper reported.

    “Brown, who is not known to be a movie buff, gave the President and his children several uniquely historical gifts.

    “The first of which is a pen holder fashioned from the oak timber of HMS Gannet, a Navy vessel that served on anti-slavery missions off Africa.

    “Another treasure given to Obama is a framed commissioning paper for the HMS Resolute, a Royal Navy ship that came to symbolize British-American goodwill when it was rescued by the U.S. from icebergs and given to Queen Victoria. It is the sister ship of the HMS Gannet.

    “Finally, Brown gave Obama a first edition of Martin Gilbert’s seven-volume biography of Winston Churchill, whose World War II partnership with President Franklin Roosevelt symbolized the U.S.-Anglo alliance.

    “So, let’s get this straight: the Prime Minister of Great Britain gave Barrack Obama not one, but severa,l priceless gifts of historical value – and Mr. Obama gave the Prime Minister a collection of two-bit DVDs he grabbed off of a Time-Life infomercial.”

    Embarrassed yet?

    Now, Mr. Obama is all set to sweep up the lovely Michelle and head off to tea with his peer,Her Majesty the Queen. Perhaps, while he is handing Elizabeth II her set of DVDs (gee, I hope she gets “Bad Boyz 2,” that’s my favorite of all), the Royal Band will be kind enough to play in the background that wonderful refrain that became a rallying song for the beleaguered British during World War II:

    They’ll always be an England,
    And England will be free,
    If England means as much to you
    As England does to me.

    Fortunately for those who have good taste, there will not always be a Barack Obama.

    Carter Clews is a contributing editor for ALG News Bureau.


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