It's burned in my brain, and chokes me up every time: Tony Blair declaring on September 11, 2001, that Britain stands "shoulder to shoulder" with the U.S.
George W. recognized and fostered the special relationship that we have with our friends across the pond during his presidency. The Blairs and the Browns were welcomed with open arms, and the two countries worked together on many an occasion in many different ways.
Now only about 6 weeks into his presidency and Obama has given the Brits a very chilly shoulder. First he returns a bust of Churchill. Then he treats a visit by the Browns without the customary fanfare, in effect relegating the P.M. to the status of a far lesser dignitary. And not allowing access to the British press furthered the shabby treatment.
Did Michelle -- who has expressed disdain for the U.K. for its connection to the slave trade (even though it was a Tory who led the charge for abolition) -- also add fuel to the fire? After Mrs. Brown gave thoughtful and distinctive presents to the Obama girls, did Michelle actually return the favor with cheap, plastic toy helicopters (perhaps rushed over from the White House gift shop when she realized she hadn't bought anything) for the Brown boys?
Meanwhile Mr Brown gave a gift from the HMS Resolute, a vessel that came to mark Anglo-US peace when it was saved from ice packs by Americans and given to Queen Victoria and an ornamental desk pen holder made from the oak timbers of Victorian anti-slaver HMS Gannet, once named HMS President. (A most thoughtful gift in that it was the sister ship of the vessel from which the desk Obama chose for the Oval Office was made.) He also gave a first edition set of the seven-volume classic biography of Churchill by Sir Martin Gilbert. BO wasn't all that more gracious than his wife, as he gave Mr. Brown 25 DVDs of American movies. Ho hum.
Where is all this coming from? Could Obama be so petty -- and short-sighted -- that he would punish the U.K. for the audacity of having that good relationship with W.? What is he thinking? That the U.S. doesn't need every ally we can get right now? Would he jeopardize our standing with a nation that is still -- despite their economic woes of late -- one of the most powerful on the planet?
Is Obama so devoted to being egalitarian that he feels no leader deserves special treatment? Britain is no better than Iran, or Syria or Cuba, right? We won't need the U.K. because, you know, France and Germany will have our back.
When everyone is special, no one is special. Yeah, that's a foreign policy that will work for the U.S.
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