Not So Worldly After All

I guess those years of experience in community organizing didn’t prepare Barack Obama for this. The self-proclaimed “citizen of the world” isn’t as worldly after all:

After insulting Gordon Brown during the British prime minister’s visit this week by ignoring protocol and cheaping out on the traditional gift exchange, the UK media has erupted in outrage. The Obama White House has now started to recognize the firestorm the new President created with our closest ally, and wants to assure the Brits that he meant no disrespect.

(H/T: Ed Morrissey) Of course, it’s never polite to point out a loved one’s shortcomings in public, so I’m sure the MSM will forget and/or downplay this gaffe. Tough break for Obama that the rest of the world is watching and their press isn’t as infatuated with him as ours seems to be.

In other, related, news. Sorry, Hill, our press just isn't that into you. It would appear, the Secretary of State isn’t doing much better:

When Secretary of State Hillary Clinton greeted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva on Friday before sitting down to their working dinner, she presented him a small green box with a ribbon. Inside was a red button with the Russian word "peregruzka" printed on it.

"I would like to present you with a little gift that represents what President Obama and Vice President Biden and I have been saying and that is: 'We want to reset our relationship and so we will do it together.'"
Clinton, laughing, added, "We worked hard to get the right Russian word. Do you think we got it?" she asked Lavrov.
"You got it wrong," Lavrov said." Both diplomats laughed. "It should be "perezagruzka" (the Russian word for reset,) Lavrov said. "This says 'peregruzka,' which means 'overcharged.'"

Perhaps that button was meant for the American public? And, not to be a stickler, I don’t know if I would be handing off Red Buttons for the Russians to push, no matter what it was supposed to say!