*At least four British newspapers have taken offense over the caliber of presidential gifts given to Prime Minister Gordon Brown by the Obamas during their visit to the White House last week.
"President Obama has been rudeness personified towards Britain," sniffed The Daily Telegraph Friday. "His handling of the visit of the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, to Washington was appalling."
Among the list of complaints, as reported by the New York Daily News: Obama canceled a planned, podium-to-podium news conference with Brown (actually, none was ever scheduled); he recently removed a bust of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill from the Oval Office; and he gave gifts to the Brown family that were "about as exciting as a pair of socks," one newspaper writer whined.
After Brown presented Obama with a pen holder crafted from the timbers of the 19th century British warship HMS President (whose sister ship, HMS Resolute, provided the wood for the Oval Office's desk), Obama offered up 25 DVDs of American movie classics.
"Oh, give me strength," wrote one appalled Daily Telegraph staffer. "We do have television and DVD stores on this side of the Atlantic."
Never mind that Brown is blind in one eye and may have a hard time seeing the films, or that American DVDs are usually incompatible with British players.
Equally insulting, decided the Times of London, was Michelle Obama's "solipsistic" and "inherently dismissive" gifts to the Browns' two little boys, Fraser and John. The offending souvenirs? Toy models of Marine One, the President's helicopter — "gifts no doubt plucked from the White House gift shop at the last minute," The Times decided.
Brown's wife, Sarah, by contrast arrived with dresses for Sasha and Malia from the UK's trendy Top Shop (with matching necklaces) and a selection of books by British authors.
"A bit of thought had clearly gone into choosing them," crowed The Daily Mail. "Lovely."
Before Brown's visit last week, the Brits were already aware that Obama removed a bust of Churchill from the Oval Office and replaced it with his hero, Abraham Lincoln. The Times of London immediately traced Obama's "disdain" for Churchill to Kenya, where Obama's grandfather was caught up in the Churchill-led suppression of the 1950s Mau Mau Rebellion that left thousands of Kenyans dead.
"It's not surprising that Mr. Obama didn't want Churchill looking over his shoulder," explained one correspondent.
Friday, it was revealed that Obama would be granted a private audience with Queen Elizabeth when he travels to London next month. Quipped one reader of The Sun, "I hope Her Majesty likes DVDs."