And is it just me ... or does an iPod seem a bit tacky as a gift to present to the Queen? Who is in charge of presidential gift-giving these days?
Rush Limbaugh played the sound bite of Ms. Couric gushing over the Obamas during their trip to Europe
COURIC: He presented the Queen with a video iPod -- something she actually requested! -- loaded with classic show tunes like My Fair Lady and Camelot, also a songbook autographed by Richard Rodgers, the master himself. The moment that was really noticed was when Mrs. Obama, as you mentioned earlier, placed her arm around Queen Elizabeth!Rush added his commentary to the Couric clip:
SMITH: Mmmmumph!
COURIC: Touching, I guess initiating touching is a no, no.
SMITH: Yeah!
COURIC: But her majesty seemed to welcome Mrs. Obama's overture, so people here are just eating it up!
RUSH: Oh, yes, American royalty meets British royalty. So now Katie Couric says Queen Elizabeth asked for the iPod. She asked for it. Now, I heard -- and I don't know, but I heard -- that she already had an iPod. She asked Obama to bring her an iPod. What did he do, stop at the Duty Free Shop when he landed at Stansted and go in there and pick one up? No, obviously, because it was preloaded with stuff. It's another thing about an iPod. You give somebody an iPod so they can load their own stuff on it. The touchy-feely... This is one of the protocol things that people were worried about. Here is the audio of Obama's chat with the Queen. Now, what this is, is Obama and Prince Philip. They had this quiet exchange yesterday at Buckingham Palace.These media hypocrisies bother me. The Bushes could do nothing right in the eyes of the mainstream media ... but when Michelle Obama touches the Queen, a definite no-no, it's okay to Ms. Couric. If Mrs. Bush had done the same, the press would be talking about it for days claiming the Bushes must have been brought up in a barn and were horrible representatives of the U.S. for daring to break protocol and touch the Queen.
In the words of Miss Katie -- "The Perky One," as Rush calls her -- "But her majesty seemed to welcome Mrs. Obama's overture, so people here are just eating it up!"
"Eating it up"?
Oh, to have Lexis-Nexis to research what Ms. Couric said about President and Mrs. Bush.
2 comments:
"Am I to believe that heads of state put in requests -- purchasing orders, if you will? -- for gifts from visiting heads of state?"
No, but she might politely mention it if someone from the White House called up and asked what Her Majesty wanted by way of a present.
"Now, I heard -- and I don't know, but I heard -- that she already had an iPod."
Apparently an old one without video capabilities.
"It's another thing about an iPod. You give somebody an iPod so they can load their own stuff on it."
I suppose if someone gave Rush Limbaugh a wallet stuffed with dollar bills, he would complain that you give someone a wallet so they can put their own money in it.
As a former political appointee who worked in the offices of two Cabinet Secretaries I can honestly say I have never heard of a head of state or foreign leader requesting any gift. Our side gives what we feel is appropriate.
Post a Comment