The media's giftgate
April 02, 2009 8:47 am ET by Eric Boehlert
I know, my head hurts too, reading the 'coverage.' (I'm waiting for some reporter to combine the gift 'story' with a detailed description of what Michelle Obama was wearing when she gave the Queen of England the gift.)
Aside from the fact that key facts have been omitted by the press, the 'story' reeks of double standards because I don't remember any detailed coverage of the gifts Bush gave dignitaries over the years. Plus, Obama is being mocked, in part, for being a narcissist by including some of his speeches on the Queen's iPod. That's why this part made us chuckle, from Politico:
As for the queen, she gave the Obamas a signed photo of herself and her husband in a silver frame. But she had it easier than Obama — that’s the same thing she always gives visiting dignitaries.
Is that an appropriate gift? It certainly seems so. But imagine the media reaction if Obama had given the queen a signed photo of himself.
UPDATE: More overseas 'reporting,' courtesy of Time's migraine-inducing dispatch about how Michelle Obama appeared to touch the Queen for "just a second or two." Time tells us that's a protocol no-no:
The rules are set in stone, and so the eagerly watching British media sputtered when the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, briefly put her hand on the back of Queen Elizabeth II as the two chatted at a reception.
The British media "sputtered," Time relayed. But Time didn't bother to, y'know, actually quote any sputtering examples from the British media. Readers just have to trust Time. Same here:
Still, the sight of anyone apparently touching the Queen with anything more than a limp handshake is enough to send the British (or traditionalists in the old Commonwealth) twittering.
Did the British twitter after Obama appeared to touch the Queen for "just a second or two"? Again, Time doesn't quote anybody to suggest they did. We're supposed to trust Time's judgment. But considering the fact that the article itself is an embarrassment, from premise to execution, that's hard for us to do.
UPDATE: From a CF reader in the comment section:
If I may chime in from the UK. Saw that Michelle Obama put her hand on the Queen's back last night on the BBC news. It was like, 5 seconds of the 10 o'clock news, and the brief comment from the Beeb reporter was to say how unmoved the Queen was when it happened.
UPDATE: More breaking giftgate news here.
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*yawn* Another day, another fake outrage from the right. At least the right has settled in quite well in the role of complete and utter irrelevance.
You're taking this specific nonsense too seriously, and missing it for what it truly is.
There is real and substantial and serious talks going on at the G20 meetings, about the future Regulatory reform of the financial services companies and banks worldwide, most specifically in the U.S., on Wall Street.
The nonsense about the Queen and wardrobes and "etiquette" and iPods is all just distractionary nonsense.
Isn't that an important part of monitoring and interpreting what the hack Republican media does, to identify not only the distractions they use, but the things they are distracting their audiences from?
If I may chime in from the UK.
Saw that Michelle Obama put her hand on the Queen's back last night on the BBC news. It was like, 5 seconds of the 10 o'clock news, and the brief comment from the Beeb reporter was to say how unmoved the Queen was when it happened.
I have no doubt some anally retentive locals are busily writing to editors about the breach of protocol, but no-one in the media anyway seems to give a monkeys. At least based on how this "incident" was reported.
I can easily believe that the familiar manner in which Mrs. Obama posed for pictures with Queen, was of no real interest to the British press or the BBC... that is unless the British press and the BBC were trying to distract the people of the UK from the substance of the G20 meetings: in which case, they'd probably obssess over the matter, as a way of distracting UK minds and UK eyes from those G20 meetings, and from the talk of Regulatory reform that is dominating those meetings (behind closed doors at this very moment).
Here in the U.S., talk of Regulatory reform of the financial markets and financial system, is controversial: as the same interests that own and dominate our media, are also interests that are against any Regulatory reform of Wall Street, or any Regulation at all, of financial services companies and banks in the U.S.
And so we get 24/7 media coverage of what Mrs. Obama is wearing, and what gift was given the Queen, and nonsense about "proper etiquette" and can the Queen be touched any familiar way, or is she like a painting or statue or even wax figure, in a musuem... "please do not touch the exhibits!"
It's nice to hear (if I'm hearing it right) that you folks over there aren't being distracted in your media from the important talk of Regulatory reform at the G20 meetings... we aren't so lucky: the matter is controversial here: and our privately owned media has it's interests in that matter.
The news I watch - BBC and Sky - is focused on what consensus is emerging from the G20. So no, these peripheral etiquette issues get very little coverage.
There is some coverage of the protests in London, which is fair enough, but what we really needed was some Daily Show treatment of the idiots who ransacked a Royal Bank of Scotland branch in The City. RBS being our AIG, which has already (a) been looted, and (b) taken over by the government. Someone really should have pointed this out like only Jon Stewart can.
And that's exactly the all-important story that will come of these G20 meetings: what consensus opinion will these extraordinarily powerful delegations reach, regarding how to go forward amidst this global recession.
That consensus will involve the future of Regulations of all the financial markets, but in particular, the Regulation of financial services companies and banks in the U.S., on Wall Street.
And it's terrible here in the American media, how the companies that own that media (GE, News Corp., Disney, and Time-Warner especially) are already blacking out all or most talk of Regulations... seeing as Regulatory reform is what they oppose.
And so we're getting President's Obama's trip to London being reported here, as though the man were merely on vacation, and is sightseeing and meeting the Queen.
And it's only going to get worse for us, in our American media: as the consensus you refer to, will very likely bend toward what the French and German delegations are rightly working for, more and better Regulations of the many financial systems that the nations of the G20 comprise.
And the "protests" also have been overplayed in our media, as just another thing to distract from talk of Regulation (which I am sure is the talk dominating these closed door sessions): even though it was plain from what I saw, that (in the case of the RBS building) one knucklehead took advantage of how few cops were in the immediate vicinity, to smash in a window... and then two or so more knuckleheads jumped in too... and about 200 photographers made for a mad crush getting in on it too!
It didn't look on my television like any "protest", but just an insanely overblown and overcovered case of vandalism.
Anyway, I and a good portion of the thinking world wait, to see the exact nature and scope of the consensus, of Regulatory reform, that will come out of these important closed door sessions...
And it'll be frustrating madness, sifting the American media for any sensible reports of that consensus.
And for those who are interested, the communique has been issued of the consensus reached in the closed door sessions...
http://www.londonsummit.gov.uk/resources/en/news/15766232/communique-020409
Articles 13 through 16 are the real teeth of the thing.
It's those articles, under the heading of "Strengthening Financial Supervision and Regulation", that due to their controversial nature here in the U.S., will be variously ignored and under-reported and twisted and misconstrued beyond all recognition (most likely by making the false claim that the FSB will have anything like enforcement powers in the U.S. or anywhere: it's the power of oversight, which is the power to ask questions and require answers, they will have... but our wickedly corrupt commentariat will turn those articles and that FSB into some sort of forfeiture of our sovereignty, I'm sure).
Anyway, the information is right there, from the horse's mouth.
It's a good base to measure from, when listening to the screwed up way the American media reports it, or ignores it or distorts it, as the case may be.
View from the extreme right:
...and that's such a great reminder, of how creepy and weird and strange and inappropriate and even offensive, George W. Bush was and is.
It was no momentary gaffe or goof: it was a perfect demonstration of what a strange even bizarre creep the guy is.
Right now the DOW is up nearly 4%.
Right now the DOW is up nearly 4%.
Exactly.
The Times online puts "touchgate" in perspective:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/G20/article6022502.ece
"I'm waiting for some reporter to combine the gift 'story' with a detailed description of what Michelle Obama was wearing when she gave the Queen of England the gift."
Look no further than today's New York Post for side by side stories about Obama's crappy gift and the horrifying outfit that Michelle was wearing.
The iPod touch is awesome! It's an amazing example of the leading edge in this technology.
I have no doubt President Obama didn't go cheap, and got the Queen the 32 GB iPod touch...
And when she gets around to mastering the thing with her thumbs, she'll say what everybody else says: "This is awesome!"
Speaking of news that reporters aren't covering so that they can wallow in "giftgate," the reporter from ABC covered the fact that Obama is not attempting to look into Putin's soul.
I was so happy to see that announcement, I put it up in my Facebook spot.
Quite a few years back the Queen visited out here on the touchy feely West Coast.
One of her host governors had an elbow and back touching habit. He did it so frequently during her visit that it became an issue on the corporate media.
When he received the Queen's thank you note, at the end of the visit, the opening line was "The Queen was deeply touched..."
Unlike the corporate media, she obviously has a sense of humour about it.
Team Obama has the Gift of Gaffe.. and this is without VP Biden!
Hillary held up her end in Mexico City and regardless of what her aides say, she embarrassed the entire nation by asking who painted the image of Our Lady of Guadeloupe.
Man...let's get Biden out there and see what he can do!
I did not see others mention of it here, but as I recall Bush walked over to the Queen at one point cutting across her prized garden, damaging several plants and leaving a trail. Among many other lesser blunders (to say nothing of the piggish eating and famous Merkel back rub videos.)
I wonder which occasion upset the Queen more or set the UK populace more "atwitter"
In fairness to the right wing nutcases...yea, I know, it's hard...the story about the iPod didn't fully cross the newswires until a few hours after the original exchange of gifts.
That's just bad performance on the press office's part, which should have made a point of highlighting the video and photographs of the Queen, and later, should have pointed out the comparable quality of the gifts exchanged.
In May 2007, towards the end of his administration, President and Mrs. Bush presented the Queen of England with a bronze statuette “High Desert Princess” with a personal inscription on the bottom of the base, a replica of the original statue located at the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Ft. Worth, Texas.
I think I'd rather have the iPod than that hideous piece of Texan garbage.
Here's my favorite part of the entire thing. According to CNN, Obama didn't just give the Queen a video ipod, he also gave her a "rare musical songbook by Richard Rodgers."
Strangely though, that doesn't seem to have been reported by the people pushing this meme.
Source: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/04/02/obama-gives-queen-an-ipod/
JD,
That's because Rodgers wrote, you know, "musicals" that teh gheys like to whistle when they have the buttsecks.
Back in the early 1990s, the Australian prime minister of the day, who was an anti-monarchist, placed his hand on the queen's back during an official engagement.
The British tabloids immediately dubbed Paul Keating the"lizard of Oz" and all but accused him of raping the mother country.