May 25, 2011
I find toast-botch too painful to mock.
What if you gave a toast and nobody raised their glass with you, because they were in the middle of a solemn ritual that you had thought was the solemn ritual that is your toast but was their national anthem and the elderly queen was queenly enough to say gently to you "that's very kind"? You would carefully place your glass on the table and stand stiffly like everyone else and hope that the wide frown on your face expressed not your nightmare experience but some simulacrum of the "national anthem face" you should have had there all along, when you were blabbing that Shakespeare — Shakespeare! — to try to butter them up about what a great country they think they have. Oh! The rigidity of this horror!
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258 comments:
1 – 200 of 258 Newer› Newest»Oh my! At least he didn't try to give her a shoulder rub.
The guy is smoooooooth I tell you. The bestest president eva'. His hot wife is proof of his mad charm skills.
That is an All-World faux pas. Far surpasses the Bush-barf incident of '92. Any other contenders?
"Oh my! At least he didn't try to give her a shoulder rub."
Or, vomit on/near the Prime MInister of Japan.
The only person who could have screwed that up even worse, is Joe Biden. Unfortunately, Joe had to stay home and take care of the country. We're fucked.
Wasn't a good week for Barky. Poor dear. Wish he were this incompetent when he sets to screwing up this America.
"That is an All-World faux pas. Far surpasses the Bush-barf incident of '92. Any other contenders?"
Didn't Barry give her an iPod during a recent visit? I guess he had to top that.
"Or, vomit on/near the Prime MInister of Japan."
Yeah, because being ill is way more offensive than just being too stupid to know the protocol.
Is that what happened? I can't bear to watch and find out. But what a classless douche.
How long until Jay Carney tells us that Obama's toast was not a gaffe at all, just a "kinetic douchebag action".
Can't somebody BRIEF this poor man??
Awful.
But then again I don't get into anything "Royal".
If the president hadn't rejected the manners and mores of his white ancestors this never would have happened.
Can't somebody DEBRIEF this poor man??
I haven't watched it either, btw. Can't get up the nerve.
"But then again I don't get into anything "Royal"."
I agree, but the thing is the Royals are important to THEM. We used to worry about offending our allies, now it seems, not so much.
In fact, Barry seems to delight in offending them - especially the British.
UGH!
I haven't watched the video or listened to the audio specifically because of the pain. I read the text description of it and decided it was intolerable.
The fact that this guy did it makes it suck worse, but, frankly, I cringe at anyone making such awful mistakes in a live performance of any kind. I tried to watch the Chinese acrobats a few years back and almost crawled out of my skin waiting for one of them to screw up.
Can't play the video. Was there a "shout-out" involved?
Too painful to mock? Isn't that all academics did with Bush and do with Palin? That is practically all I hear in the hallways when they are mentioned.
And Bush had no where near the number of obvious "I'm A Fool" moments that President Obama has had. To me, Obama is the classic former professor turned university administrator. A way to sure of himself fool.
Buffoon - I actually heard some liberal nut on TV said "Well, he (Obama) thought the song was My Country 'Tis of Thee". Really? Really? When you are in Buckingham Palace at a State Dinner they are going to play My Country 'Tis of Thee? Maybe when he got rid of Desiree Rogers all of the folks that know protocol about such things took a boogie, too!
Re:the I-pod Obama gave her - wasn't it full of Obama's speeches so she could listen to him as she was going night-night?
"Too painful to mock? Isn't that all academics did with Bush and do with Palin?"
*I* didn't. I'm saying how I feel. I think I've been consistent.
Can't somebody DEBRIEF this poor man??
I'd pay to see that, although the President strikes me as a boxers kind of guy.
Well I've viewed our President as low on the competence index but I kind of pity him, its a sort of warm, fuzzy emotion.
Damn, I'm a racist.
Everything the BDS crowd said about W...multiplied by 10.
You can lead a politician to a briefing, but you can't make him care.
The next president is going to need a reset button for our oldest ally.
Queen E is so loading a YouTube of this on her iPod.
"*I* didn't. I'm saying how I feel. I think I've been consistent."
You have been. But, my coworkers sure aren't consistent. Are yours?
And doesn't the president remind you of most of the administrators we have to suffer with? All the while we give them great recommendations hoping some other university will hire them away and save us.
It's My Country 'Tis of Thee, a nice accompaniment for an American toast to the Queen.
Yankee Doodle is the British National Anthem.
I don't know why people think this is so painful. I laugh harder every time I see him turn and raise his glass to her - gets no response and then sets it down and almost cries.
Must-see TV, I tell y.
@hoosier
The next president is going to need a reset button for our oldest ally.
The next election will BE the reset button.
It was the orchestra leader's mistake, but Obama was awfully slow catching on.
And the State Dept. should have briefed him that "God Save the Queen" has a very serious bit of protocol going with it in all of the Commonwealth, and especially in Great Britain.
"But then again I don't get into anything "Royal"."
=====
It's not about royalty. It's about talking through their national anthem.
What would we say about a Brit yacking through the Star Spangled Banner?
So, what was the correct protocol.
Are we sure that the orchestra was supposed to start playing in the middle of BHO's toast?
I get that they like their pomp and such. But, seriously! Our president is supposed to start a toast, and then pause so he can stand around waiting for their anthem, and then he is expected to continue w/ the toast? What a weird protocol.
Couldn't the orchestra take a break and let the guy finish w/ the toast?
Is it possible that the orchestra should have waited? But they jumped the gun.
A three part toast w/ a start and end of jabber, and a national anthem in the middle seems absurd. A simpler explanation is that the orchestra jumped the gun. Or, BHO jumped the gun and the anthem was supposed to be before his toast. But, combining the two is nuts, imho.
Lazlo Toth's apology for America to the Queen, on her being greeted with "The Lady Is a Tramp" on her tour.
Women with their bizarre ideations actually seem to enjoy wearing formal gowns. With the single exception of Fred Astaire, all men look uncomfortable and a trifle silly while wearing tails. My heart goes out to Obama. A faux pas in formal wear is an aggravating factor to the embarassment.
pbandj -- So the president does something that looks on its face to be idiotic and in poor taste. Well, chief, let's play shoe-on-the-other-foot: had it been Bush, would you be contorting yourself in such a convoluted way to come up with an explanation? Or would you just lambaste and laugh with national discomfort?
Be honest. With yourself.
"Are we sure that the orchestra was supposed to start playing in the middle of BHO's toast?"
The protocol is for the orchestra to play while everone stands at attendion and then Barry does the toast. He should have been briefed on that. If he was not, his protocol people need to be fired. If he was and was just too stupid to do it correctly he should be fired.
Well, one can wish.
Couldn't the orchestra take a break and let the guy finish w/ the toast?
They thought he was finished.
Can you imagine if any Republican had done this? It would end Paul Ryan's career.
Obama is a lucky SOB.
Fake it till you make it all the way to being a jackass to the Queen of England.
There is something Shakespearean at play here.
". He should have been briefed on that. If he was not, his protocol people need to be fired."
The buck stops with Obama. This isn't the first time he's acted like he has no idea what American Presidents act like when abroad.
It's just a silly thing, but it's amusing that the PBandJ type shills are trying so hard to explain how this is not Obama's fault, when we all know what they would be saying if this was Bush or Palin.
That is so sad, yet so charmingly funny you can't help but feel sorry for him.
Camilla did a queenly job keeping a straight face.
He made a speech, then stopped. The orchestra thought he was finished. Here is Politico's description:
LONDON – It was all going so well.
But when the time came for President Obama to deliver his toast to Queen Elizabeth Tuesday night, the meticulously planned state dinner at Buckingham Palace turned, well, awkward.
As Obama began wrapping up his remarks, he put down his notecards and picked up his glass.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please stand with me and raise your glasses as I propose a toast,” the president said, as the guests stood up. “To her majesty the Queen.”
At this point, the band queued up “God Save the Queen.” But Obama wasn’t quite finished yet.
So he kept talking – over the British national anthem – and the president competed with orchestra for a few more seconds.
The protocol is: speech, anthem, raise the glass and drink. That's what the Queen did.
It is painful. Cringeworthy.
The correct protocol was to save the "...to her majesty the Queen" for the end of the toast! It's the cue for the Anthem to begin.
I think somebody heavily emphasized to Obama that he was to close with those exact words, but he choked and blurted them out first thing, like a kid in a aschool play.
Nobody ever said his teleprompters were just for show.
"...Oh my! At least he didn't try to give her a shoulder rub." Or, vomit on/near the Prime MInister of Japan...."
Quick, slap on a just like Bush tag.
Remind me again how smart this dude is.
You can see what is supposed to happen here, the Queen starts at about 2:15
And then he honored the royals with his rich baritone singing voice: "America! For spacious skies, for amber waves of grain..."
It is painful. Cringeworthy. This is not what you want when your President goes abroad.
Ouch. That is cringe-inducing. I'd have felt better if he laughed it off--since when are Americans to beholden to protocol?--but he looks simply mortified. I feel bad for him.
If that had been me, I would have run out of that hall like a sixteen year old girl whose coming out party was ruined when Sally Amber-Oakes-Bailey spilled her Shirley Temple on my dress, right in front of the boy I was hoping to neck with after the cake. God Save the Queen, indeed.
He's quoting from Shakespeare's Richard II.
Richard II became king at age 10. He needed other people to run the country for him until he grew up a little.
Anyway, I can't help feeling bad for Obama here. Just looking at his face as he realizes what he's done... it's painful. You can see him wrestling his expression into something more solemn.
I also think it's remarkable but unsurprising how everyone else keeps a calm dignified expression. The ceiling could cave in and I'm sure they'd brush off the debris delicately from their shoulders with a quiet, "Well, well."
Now, given this history . . .
February 2009:
-- POTUS returns the valuable bust of Churchill the British loaned us, without telling the British government first.
March 2009:
-- POTUS doesn't greet the British PM at the airport.
-- POTUS gives the nearly-blind British PM a gift of not particularly special DVDs that won't play on British DVD players.
April 2009:
-- FLOTUS breaks protocol by touching the Queen.
-- FLOTUS gives the Queen an iPod with Obama speeches on it.
-- POTUS calls Britain "England" in a speech in Britain.
May 2009:
-- Administration excludes the Queen from D-Day anniversary plans.
June 2010:
-- POTUS repeatedly refers to BP as "British Petroleum", triggering annoyance in Britain (BP is a merger of British Petroleum and the American Oil Co).
. . . you'd think the President would be very, very careful to make sure everything went correctly this time.
Apparently not.
"The buck stops with Obama. This isn't the first time he's acted like he has no idea what American Presidents act like when abroad."
Hey, I am no defender of Barry, but I do know it's hard to keep up on every bit of protocol for every event for every different country one visits. That's why you pay people to keep you briefed on it.
If they failed to do so - which I don't for a moment believe they did - they should be fired.
At least he didn't try to clink glasses with her.
It's also possible that Obama had had two or three drinks already.
"The correct protocol was to save the "...to her majesty the Queen" for the end of the toast! It's the cue for the Anthem to begin."
Well, I got the order wrong, but then again I don't have a full team of people advising me. Barry did and he still screwed it up.
I don't find it too painful to watch--rather the other way around. My innards get happy just thinking about his embarrasment. The only thing better is the Netanyahu beatdown.
Too painful to watch?! You pussies. When I get home I'm going to crack a beer and watch it several more times.
Man plans. And, God laughs.
Plus, the bamster is already retreating from the demands (also made with a sour puss), to Netanyahu.
Is there a worry that the White House will give the okay to the UN to establish a palistine state, anyway?
Besides, I don't believe Obama is "part" Irish Catholic. Not even 3,000 generations, ago.
Maybe, his trip didn't go so well, after all? Maybe, George Mitchell ran away for a very good reason?
I'm glad people are mocking Obama and calling him an "idiot" and such. It's our national tradition and indeed the tradition of all democracies to insult their leaders' intelligence.
However, the idea that this gaffe is a national embarrassment or somehow has a negative impact is delusion (@hoosier @windbag). Just look at Obama's numbers in England: Approval rate in the %70s. Bush's was in the %20s. Are you seriously going to argue that Obama's presidency is harming our relationship with Britain? You just sound like a petulant twerp when you do. "Obama removed Churchill's bust"-- how many times did we hear that boner of a story? It's all a rightist fantasy.
I feel more sorry for Republicans every day.
That was a narcissist's nightmare...not being in control of how others perceive you. Michelle had better stay out of Barry's sight for a few days. First Netanyahu exposed Barry's faked giving Israel orders, and now Queen Elizabeth exposed his faked giving England an honor.
Humbleness folks -- Obama was probably informed and somehow the network got mixed up. No big deal really -- it's just a state dinner. He's human and the Queen is modest. Obama is so normal, even as brilliant as he is, a reason why we vote for him as we have. Thank you Mr President for making us a proud country and you can't be more charming than the prince darling -- at his fragile age.
@Steven, yeah karma's a bitch.
So the Queen didn't participate in the D-Day ceremonies at all?
I think it would of been cool if he tried to link arms with her and they drank from each other glasses.
The only thing better is the Netanyahu beatdown.
USA! USA!
"his protocol people need to be fired."
His protocol people are probably self-important twenty-somethings who think following protocol is something only Republicans do. They probably write at Daily Kos on the side.
If you watch the link I gave above, you also see (starting about 8:45) that Obama spoke for several minutes before he put down his notes and raised his glass. What was the orchestra to think?
It does seem to be something with this administration that they do not take advice from the State Department on protocol or much of anything else.
Remember Hillary and her "Reset" button?
Far being it for me to extol the virtues of the US State Department on policy, but the Administration really should make use of their professional services. The Dept. has been around for a long time, and they do know about these things.
Obama is so normal, even as brilliant as he is, a reason why we vote for him as we have.
Does anyone actually still believe that Obama is "brilliant"?
I can't stand Obama's policies or his self-involvement, but I don't see the big deal. Everybody makes mistakes.
USA! USA!
Garage, it is time to take off the outfit and the pom-poms. It has been too many days, and the neighbors are getting concerned.
Obama is so normal, even as brilliant as he is, a reason why we vote for him as we have.
Satire, right?
Just look at Obama's numbers in England: Approval rate in the %70s. Bush's was in the %20s. Are you seriously going to argue that Obama's presidency is harming our relationship with Britain?
Our? Really? Here's a hint: we put % after the number here. You'll be more believable if you write that way.
Maybe, the band's leader was a Mossad agent?
You know "those Jews!" They've got sharks attacking egyptians. Maybe, all the bamster's bad luck on this trip were set ups done by the Mossad?
I even heard they put the "bump" in the Embassy's driveway, "over night."
That's it.
The wine in that glass was from a $1,000 bottle. So, good grief ... the bamster had to get very surprised at how people held back!
Songs, my foot. God laughing, however, came about so quickly after the moron thought he'd scare Bibi into moving Israel's borders. PUTZ.
TWM, there's no reason for you (or I) to know British protocol, that's just the explanation I heard on the radio (NPR?). But once I watched the video it became obvious. He actually says "...to her majesty the Queen..." three times total. Once in the beginning, once at the end of his toast and once when he catches up with the rest of the world. If I had done something like that while speaking on Flag Day in the sixth grade, my podium privileges would've been permanently stripped. Miss Withstandley had no time for mush-mouths, squirmers or people who forgot their scripts.
Does anyone actually still believe that Obama is "brilliant"?
Drew, the following is from the Telegraph article reporting on the speech:
Brilliant Speaker
The pictures were better than the words. President Barack Obama is a brilliant speaker, but also a very polite man, and in Westminster Hall his oratorical inspiration was smothered by the cautious politeness of an American statesman.
Perhaps Mr Obama was smothered also by his audience, which remained stubbornly unresponsive. For most of the time the President had nothing to bounce off: no applause and certainly no shouts of praise or blame as might be heard in an American church or at an American political rally.
"Toast" is such a lovely word when you consider Obama and 2012.
I want to ask a question to liberals. Why do they go out of their way to make sure ALL protocol is followed when a POTUS meets a Saudi King, but fuck the British royals? What's the logic in that?
Netanyahu is a better American then Obama!
@Dustin
...he's acted like he has no idea what American Presidents act...
Therein lies the problem. He acts like Obama would act, NOT like the President of the United States of American OUGHT to act. He's a pathetic, ignorant rube.
I'm sure after this the inside joke at Buckingham Palace will be the chorus from "Over There."
Over there, over there,
Send the word, send the word over there
That the Yanks are coming,
the Yanks are coming
The drums rum-tumming everywhere.
So prepare, say a prayer,
Send the word, send the word to beware
I get that they like their pomp and such. But, seriously! Our president is supposed to start a toast, and then pause so he can stand around waiting for their anthem, and then he is expected to continue w/ the toast? What a weird protocol.
Why the inconsistency? You would be in horror if a Republican POTUS offended the Saudi King.
I can't help feeling bad for Obama here.
To get over that, it helps to remember what a horrible, horrible person he is. Once you've done that, just remember that for as long as there is an England, there will be that video.
It's all I can do to not liquidate my life savings, buy lots of tiny loud speakers, and distribute them to college Republicans so Barry can relive the experience of talking through that song every time he gives a speech for the rest of his Presidency.
"If they failed to do so - which I don't for a moment believe they did - they should be fired.
5/25/11 1:06 PM"
My point is that by now, Obama should go out of his way to make sure his staff brief him on protocol. If they aren't doing a good job, even now, after many other gaffes, that's Obama's fault for not being an effective administrator of his staff.
That's one of those reasons we should elect leaders with more experience. It's all too easy to imagine Obama just didn't think to have someone scrutinize the advice he's getting. He spends his time playing games like golf or watching ESPN, and I don't see many people on his staff who will give him honest criticism. That's another thing experienced leaders want, and noobs like Obama do not want.
It's Obama's fault, either way. Yes, he should terminate the people who gave him bad advice, but he really should have hired people who'd give him good advice.
Sigh.
How about God Save America? I'LL drink to that.
Netanyahu is a better American then Obama!
Hell, Ahmadinejad is a better American than Obama!
Brilliant satire. I'm with SJ, however. A beer toast to BHO, short may he reign. Can't wait to give him a retirement party.
@rhhardin
It's also possible that Obama had had two or three drinks already.
I'm sure the press would have given Bush a pass if he was drunk at an event like this.
God save Dairy Queen!
It's gonna be a long summer.
If that had been me, I would have run out of that hall like a sixteen year old girl whose coming out party was ruined when Sally Amber-Oakes-Bailey spilled her Shirley Temple on my dress, right in front of the boy I was hoping to neck with after the cake. God Save the Queen, indeed.
@Coketown;
Okay, that made me smile. Congratulations on a well-crafted paragraph.
Glad I didn't vote for that jug-earred fool.
Granted, I'm an uncouth midwestern type, but I would have preferred the Pres. to tell the band to shut the #$@! up, I'm talking here. And then say, "look, lady, that's a nice game of pretend you've got going on there, but your 75 years old for chrissakes, give it up. I'm not playing along, I'll talk to your PM, but you're an impotent, inbred relic of a fascistic monarchy which my country's forefathers shucked off their shoulders over 230 years ago, and we're sick of this BS."
Had he said that, or something like it, I'd actually vote for the twit.
Not much of a royalty type, I'm afraid.
@lincolntf
God save Dairy Queen!
It's gonna be a long summer.
From your lips to God's ears!
the Administration really should make use of their professional services. The Dept. has been around for a long time, and they do know about these things.
As I speculate in a thread below ... those people have been fired or reassigned and there is no protocol person anymore.
Who needs protocol in a socialist world, where everyone but special me is equal, there are no kings or queens.
Silly elitists.
Instead we now have a shut-the-bloggers up czar.
And we won't have anymore stories about Obama bowing to the Saudi king.
Michael Scott would have handled that with more grace and ease.
I can't fault an American president for not observing proper English protocol. After all, we fought a war to be delivered from all that. I'm sure, though, that it was an embarrassing moment for him.
poor slob, almost as embarrassing as him offering condolences to Joplin and having a Guinness!
However, the idea that this gaffe is a national embarrassment or somehow has a negative impact is delusion (@hoosier @windbag). Just look at Obama's numbers in England: Approval rate in the %70s. Bush's was in the %20s. Are you seriously going to argue that Obama's presidency is harming our relationship with Britain?
The reason you have a protocol department isn't to influence the lowest common denominator who read Hello! magazine and answer opinion polls. You take protocol seriously because it matters to people with influence and power.
This little incident could absolutely harm our relationship with the UK and you'd never be able tell from an opinion poll.
"Toast" is such a lovely word when you consider Obama and 2012.
"Toasties" I prefer mine cherry and frosted in the rose garden with a cup of black tea and a side of cream.
I can't fault an American president for not observing proper English protocol. After all, we fought a war to be delivered from all that.
The Revolutionary War was not about proper protocol. My Christ.
What a bust. Churchill's revenge.
It doesn't matter if the orchestra mistakenly started playing too early (if they, in fact, did).
It is not a question of whether Obama or the orchestra has protocol priority. Once "God Save the Queen" started, early or not, the music takes priority. That means that even The One should shut the hell up. That does not mean Obama saying, "hey, I'm talking here! and continuing to make the toast." Any fool should know that.
Did he tip a 40 to his dead homies?
The Boston Tea Party was about the inalienable Right to NOT extend one's pinky while sipping afternoon refreshments.
Four fingers or Death!
If only we had a real Leader, like Putin. OMIGod he is soo hawt! He hunts whales, knows judo, and our "leader" wears Mom's jeans and rides bikes.
Agree with Maguro, this gaffe could endanger our relationship, and even endanger our national security?
We would consider anybody talking through our national anthem to be a rube.
Just shut up, we'd think.
And that's what Obama should have done. Now, I look at that video and cringe rather than react in disgust. I think he wants to crawl under the table.
However, he had already spoken at some length and what he had left to say wasn't vital. Shutting up when the band played was definitely an option.
"...It's our national tradition and indeed the tradition of all democracies to insult their leaders' intelligence..."
Which is what you loser leftists did for 8 years when Bush was elected.
Fail
...or, what Bender said.
I'm saying how I feel.
Where were your exquisite feelings when you mocked Christopher Hitchens for having "decided to perform the drama of dying of cancer on camera"?
He spends his time playing games like golf or watching ESPN
Then he has seen enough basketball, football, and baseball games to know that when the Star-Spangled Banner starts playing, you shut the hell up and stand there respectfully. He also knows that when someone else is taking a shot or making a putt, you stand still and shut the hell up.
I was half-hoping the Queen would throw him an elbow, help him out a little bit.
wv: found...
...another reason to mock the jackass in the WH.
If "to Her Majesty, the Queen" is the signal for the orchestra to play, and I that seems to be so, it was not the conductor's mistake.
But then even more so, it is something that the President should have been briefed on and obviously was not.
And any way you cut it, for such a smart man, he was awfully slow catching on.
It is not so much about a breach of etiquette. There was a much worse, and deliberate one, back in the day when Frederick IX of Denmark pulled out his cigarette case and smoked a cigarette at a dinner with the Queen's father, as it is that the US Government appear incompetent.
OBAMA IS AWESOME!!!
Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl, but don't cross her. She was probably controlling the band with a remote control.
iPod, my ass, you prat!
...USA! USA!..."
USofKKKA!
"For the first time in my life, I am proud of my country."
Indeed.
So the Queen didn't participate in the D-Day ceremonies at all?
She was too busy working as a mechanic on those Army-issue Rovers.
Oh, you don't mean the original ceremonies.
Even these uncouth cannibals know what to do when "God Save the Queen" is playing
"Camilla did a queenly job keeping a straight face."
Then quickly started chugging her drink once protocol finally allowed. Hilarious.
But,OBAMA IS AWESOME.
The man is a buffoon. Given the number of protocol mistakes he has made, it appears he isn't listening to his protocol people or halfway through, he impatiently tells them he's got it like a young child.
My favorite protocol story is Jim Thorpe's Olympic Gold Medal Ceremony from 1912.
King of Sweden: "You, sir, are the greatest athlete in the world!"
Jim Thorpe: "Thanks, King."
His entire presidency is becoming too painful to mock.
As the consummate narcissist, learning about others (which meas paying attention to someone else) and respecting their traditions falls outside the realm of Obama's skill set. His primary interest is in impressing others with his greatness and manipulating them into doing his bidding.
Unfortunately, the consequences of this approach to life sometimes leads to such social blunders.
So, what was the correct protocol.
Are we sure that the orchestra was supposed to start playing in the middle of BHO's toast?
I get that they like their pomp and such. But, seriously! Our president is supposed to start a toast, and then pause so he can stand around waiting for their anthem, and then he is expected to continue w/ the toast? What a weird protocol.
No, it was not the orchestra's fault. Obama was supposed to make a very brief toast, not an entire speech.
You really have to wonder what's going on inside the White House.
The president's limo got stuck in Ireland...its as though no one scouted the route before they drove on it. Now this screw-up in England.
And his limo filled up at a...wait for it...BP STATION!
It would be difficult to write fiction like that and have anyone buy it.
Once again.....do they not have any people in their Office of Protocol or in the State Department that can give the President (and pretty much any of the other people in the administration) a freaking clue?
How many embarrasing flubs have they made so far? A LOT.
Seriously. There are people who are versed in International Protocol and could have guided him through this process.
Either he isn't listening to them or he is using the same clueless self important idiots who write his speeches. They all think they are the smartest people in the room and ...guess what....they really are not.
Instead, Obama and Michelle come off as ignorant dolts.
Our own President Frank Drebin.
I think these botches are planned to make BHO look less elitey. Dangerous game mind you. Dangerous game.
wv: tripecur -- Vulcan sexual aid.
The Revolutionary War was not about proper protocol. My Christ.
It was about George Washington not being made a British officer.
Our own President Frank Drebin.
WINNER!
Rahm: Barrack, I don't want any more trouble like you had last year on the southside. Understand? That's my policy.
Obama: Yes. Well, when I see 5 weirdos dressed in togas stabbing a guy in the middle of the park in full view of 100 people, I shoot the bastards. That's my policy.
Rahm: That was a Shakespeare in the Park production of Julius Caesar, you moron! You killed 5 actors! Good ones!
Proof, if anyone needed it, that God watches out for His People and those that stand by them and smites those who try to hurt them.
Little Zero hasn't had a good day since the '67 Borders speech. He might want to cut short the handshaking junket and come home where they can find something for him to do.
Like, maybe, get his scrawny ass over to Joplin where Drudge is still reporting 1500 missing in addition to the 100+ dead.
I'd ask what would happen if Dubya did the same thing, but we all know...
Alex said...
Netanyahu is a better American then Obama
Of course, he and I come from the same part of the country.
"I'm sure the press would have given Bush a pass if he was drunk at an event like this."
I sincerely doubt he had more than one drink before the dinner...he's way too cautious for that.
lol EMDavis
Ed -- Where was God from 1937 to 1945? Vacation?
Isn't it odd how Netanyahu addressed the people of Missouri hours before Obama deigned to do so?
we fought a war to be delivered from all that
That's so stupid I can imagine Obama saying it.
Michael Scott would have handled that with more grace and ease.
Heh. I cringed at this like I cringed at all sorts of Michael Scott behavior. But Michael Scott isn’t president and is fictional, so it’s a little easier to take.
How many people need to brief you before you have the sense to shut up during an anthem? Children manage to pick this up pretty quickly at ballgames; the President ought to be a bit quicker.
No, it was not the orchestra's fault. Obama was supposed to make a very brief toast, not an entire speech.
Who do you think has more practice at this?
O'bama the Irishman?
The Band of whichever of Her Majesty's Guards Regiments is on ceremonial duty at the Palace this quarter?
The band did not screw up. They practice. O'bama, not so much....
O'bama said the magic words, "To Her Majesty the Queen" The duck came down, and O'bama got duck shit on his head.
He thinks his life has incidental music accompanying him everywhere.
What a buffoon.
Who do you think has more practice at this?
O'bama the Irishman?
The Band of whichever of Her Majesty's Guards Regiments is on ceremonial duty at the Palace this quarter?
The band did not screw up. They practice. O'bama, not so much....
O'bama said the magic words, "To Her Majesty the Queen" The duck came down, and O'bama got duck shit on his head.
LOL... I met the Queen in 1966 when she visited British Guiana just prior to its independence. I was part of a group of preschoolers selected to present her with flowers. And even at that young age I knew the protocol; it was drilled into us over several days of rehearsals.
get that they like their pomp and such. But, seriously! Our president is supposed to start a toast, and then pause so he can stand around waiting for their anthem, and then he is expected to continue w/ the toast? What a weird protocol.
Why the inconsistency? You would be in horror if a Republican POTUS offended the Saudi King.
No - I'd B opening my checkbook.
No sanctuary either when they go down.
stroil? LOLOLOL
If you play the video back and forth you will see that Obamas hand comes forward and then back down again.. forward and then back down again.. The music was of a caliber unrecognizable to the president.
Who can forget this oldie but goodie?
It is a serious breach of shooting party etiquette to shoot a fellow guest in the face. Now that's a faux pas....Obama botched this, but in the grand scheme of things, it's not so much. It's pleasant enough to luxuriate in his chagrin, but have a care. Obama followers will look upon you the way Palin followers looked upon Katie Couric.
Seven Machos said...
Ed -- Where was God from 1937 to 1945? Vacation?
More like '33, but what happened from '42 on?
I'd say a whole lotta smitin' goin' on.
In those days, Jews didn't take up arms. Since they have, they've done pretty well.
Not being privy of His Travel Plans, I'm not sure, but maybe he wanted to show His Chosen People that, like the old days, they need to count on themselves for their defense.
God helps those...
And, certainly, the Krauts have given the Jews a wide berth in the last 65 years or so.
I'm inclined to give the President a break, because I think this is only partly his fault, the major fault lying with others.
The Queen preceded him with a similar sort of toast, and she went from prepared notes. I have no doubt both hers, and his, were carefully written for this occasion; and others who worked for them had copies.
I don't know, but the smart thing to do would be to have someone, with those notes, standing near the orchestra, following along--as well as watching--to get the cue right. Of course, it may be they don't do that--but as choreographed as these things are, not doing that is a serious oversight.
In which case, whoever cued the orchestra messed up. Then the President messed up in continuing to talk over "God Save the Queen."
Next time instead of clean and articulate can we get competent and smarter than a fifth grader?
what happened from '42 on?
A horrific slew of dead Jewish people.
Bush-barf incident . The japaneses tried to eat him. his crew was eaten . So anyone would do the same
Everyone else knew not to grab their glass.
Everyone else knew when the band would play.
....and what about the 3x5 cards to help him get through a toast! Can't he remember a handful of words?
I'm thinking he just screwed up royally. -cp
wv: coquel. Two novels written at the same time about the same subject.
Our own President Frank Drebin.
WINNER!
OBAMA: To her majesty, the Queen!
God Save the Queen starts to play.
OBAMA: For no matter how silly the idea of having a queen might be to us, as Americans, we must be gracious and considerate partners.
Seven Machos said...
what happened from '42 on?
A horrific slew of dead Jewish people.
And a Hell of a lot more dead Krauts.
Sofa -- That's even better. Brilliant!
Ed -- I just don't think measuring God's effectiveness by the relative number of dead people on given sides is a good idea.
Had to watch it again!!
The Queen owned him with one look, and he put the glass down!!
BWHAHAHA!
It is a serious breach of shooting party etiquette to shoot a fellow guest in the face. Now that's a faux pas....
Actually, it is more of a serious breach in shooting party etiquette to stand in the range of fire of the other party members when shooting upland game. You don't stand to the front of your other hunting partners.
I take it you have never been hunting and are not familiar with gun handling.
Obama needed note cards to make a short toast!?!?. WTF. Where is teh smartest man in the world? We were told that it was Obama.
I would've expected Drudge to be all over this, but no mention of it at drudgereport.com. Weird.
Come on. This simulacrum couldn't get his oath of office right. He's awesome, all right, but in a completely different way.
Poulenc had a commissioned woodwind rustic intermezzo (Intermède champêtre) for English notables to listen to during a French banquet cheese course, that would have been more appropriate.
The Drill SGT said...
The Band of whichever of Her Majesty's Guards Regiments is on ceremonial duty at the Palace this quarter?
I watched the long vetrsion that MayBee linked.
The Badn was the Blues and Royals. A Guards Cavalry Regiment that has been doing that since Cromwell.
I also saw that O'bama has less excuse. The Queen went first.
yada yada, "To Michelle and to President O'bama".... Star Spangled banner, everybody at attention... song ends, toast....
O'bama didn't learn his part and can't follow the model either...
I don't care that much if the Brits see clearly that Obama is a pathetic maroon.
I do wonder what they must think about the voters that elected him though. We can't really object if they think we're all a bunch of dumb hicks after electing this fool.
We are entirely missing the point. The Queen, lady that she is, let him off the hook. It wan 't the error - that happens all the time. It was Obama's failure to graciously accept his mistake and forego his toast, or alternatively to be mature enough to understand he was forgiven and smile warmly (and a little self-deprecatingly). .
"and the elderly Queen was queenly enough to say gently to you, "that's very kind."
He is entirely unschooled.
It's a bad mistake, but forgivable if he wasn't such an arrogant ass, and we didn't have to listen to people tell us for years how cool he was, despite the fact that they knew little about him, and ignored any bad they did know.
It's the lies and deception having sunlight hit them that makes this newsworthy. It how bad it makes his supporters look, rather than him.
I think that those of us of a certain political persuasion should start using the "O'Bama". Somewhat like Winning the Future when we are really saying something a bit more obscene. (or, as my kid says, Brittney Spears for Bovine Scatology).
On the other hand, he can't be the first Irish President. Kennedy had that honor, at least for Irish Catholics. And Clinton was the first Black President. Not sure what that leaves.
I wonder if Obama is still embarrassed that most of us brutish Americans don't speak French?
toast after anthem. Not complicated unless you cannot wait to hear yourself talk
Can't somebody BRIEF this poor man??
I wonder about that, too. He has repeatedly violated protocol in very simple ways. It is hard to believe that the WH Office of Protocol has a brief for each of these events.
Doe he ignore them ? Does he have a reading comprehension problem ? This is why so many people suspect his motives. Maybe they are right.
I still think Obama dating his entry in the Westminster Abbey guestbook "24 May 2008" is a far weirder and funnier blunder.
"I find toast-botch too painful to mock."
And yet you just did ~ gasp! ~ as one must be a confused masochist.
More trivial red meat for her obsessed lemming flock. As per usual ~ again, at least AA is consistent!
And yet something compelled you to come down to our level. Strange.
Shiloh is so brilliant that he cannot appreciate layered irony in prose. His taste buds are also so refined that he cannot taste things. And he hears so well that he is deaf.
Palladian: I agree. On all fronts it is funnier, especially the pretentious date before the month English convention which he undermines with his preemptive toast. I would guess etiquette was not one of his mom's top priorities. Have never seen how he might grasp a fork but I can guess.
Agreed, getting the date wrong in writing, by 3 years, is bizarre. The guy is just a buffoon.
In fact, that gaffe would be a 'go' on any sitcom about an incompetent pol.
And yet something compelled you to come down to our level. Strange.
Empathy and let the record show Scott M agrees AA is a confused masochist.
As one of my obsessed pets, SM, shows up or shall we call him S&M.
take care
More trivial red meat for her obsessed lemming flock.
Notice the suicidal-lemmings myth. The Walt Disney Company has a lot to answer for.
Is there anything so self-deluded as an Obama supporter calling other people "obsessed lemming flock"?
Dude, your nose is right under another lemming tail 24/7.
I don't feel bad for Obama. He is a pretender and is out of his league. I hope he continues to be humiliated by foreign dignitaries.
Obama has no class.
The 2008 is odd.
2010 is understandable even if 24th of May is a bit late for that, but 2008?
The best part is Elizabeth letting him go on (and on and on) without a single visual signal that he was stepping in it.
The worst part is probably off stage, when Barry blames this absurd gaffe on someone else.
There is a limit to how much a teleprompter can hold you up.
AA, please explain to us all again just why did you vote for Obama?
TIA
take care, blessings
If our president was vigorously attacking our budget deficit and reigning in entitlement spending, all the while keeping us safe and "growing" our economy, I would be happy with a hundred or more of such gaffes.
The 2008 is odd.
2010 is understandable even if 24th of May is a bit late for that, but 2008?
The best year of his life. It has been all downhill from there.
Sorry, guys, but this was comedy gold! The long form version is even better, because at 3:36 you can clearly hear the Queen tell Bambi to "set it down," referring to his raised glass that he's holding there, waiting for her to acknowledge it. Truly, watching her scold him for being such a boor is comedy you pay for!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG7VSt0_VcU
Finally, I wouldn't think this was so funny if Bambi weren't such an arrogant jerk who considers himself above such things as worrying about proper etiquette. But since he thinks he's above such petty things, it's just funny.
That quaint little background music was specially written to welcome him to grace the little island queendom. He is there, why the heck do they need GOD too to SAVE THE QUEEN, the little grand mother who didn't invite him to her grand son's little wedding to snub him. He ignores that and is gracious enough to grace their teensy-weensy island queendom. Proves that no good deed goes unpunished.
"Obama has no class."
Oh, c'mon! Since when have we cared about proper protocol among the "Royals"? Short of apologizing for the Revolutionary War, I wouldn't raise an eyebrow if he had taken a whiz in the imperial punchbowl.
On the other hand, apparently thinking or wishing it was 2008…what's that about?
Bruce Hayden, Obama is the first female president.
"But Michael Scott isn’t president and is fictional, so it’s a little easier to take."
That's what she said.
About the 2008 thing: I think he's time-traveling. That also explains the 57 states thing. He's been to a future where we've added 7 more states. Dude is AWESOME. Either that or he's the Kwisatz Haderach.
Since when have we cared about proper protocol among the "Royals"?
"The door was shut, and I was left with his Majesty and the secretary of state alone. I made the three reverences—one at the door, another about half way, and a third before the presence—according to the usage established at this and all the northern Courts of Europe, and then addrest myself to his Majesty in the following words:
“Sir:—The United States of America have appointed me their minister plenipotentiary to your Majesty, and have directed me to deliver to your Majesty this letter, which contains the evidence of it. It is in obedience to their express commands, that I have the honor to assure your Majesty of their unanimous disposition and desire to cultivate the most friendly and liberal intercourse between your Majesty’s subjects and their citizens, and of their best wishes for your Majesty’s health and happiness, and for that of your royal family.... I think myself more fortunate than all my fellow citizens, in having the distinguished honor to be the first to stand in your Majesty’s royal presence in a diplomatic character; and I shall esteem myself the happiest of men, if I can be instrumental in recommending my country more and more to your Majesty’s royal benevolence, and of restoring an entire esteem, confidence, and affection, or, in better words, the old good nature and the old good humor between people, who, tho separated by an ocean, and under different governments, have the same language, a similar religion, and kindred blood.
“I beg your Majesty’s permission to add, that, altho I have some time before been entrusted by my country, it was never in my whole life in a manner so agreeable to myself.”
The King listened to every word I said, with dignity, but with an apparent emotion. Whether it was the nature of the interview, or whether it was my visible agitation, for I felt more than I did or could express, that touched him, I can not say. But he was much affected, and answered me with more tremor than I had spoken with, and said:
“Sir:—The circumstances of this audience are so extraordinary, the language you have now held is so extremely proper, and the feelings you have discovered so justly adapted to the occasion, that I must say that I not only receive with pleasure the assurance of the friendly dispositions of the United States, but that I am very glad the choice has fallen upon you to be their minister."
-John Adams, written June 2, 1785.
Also interesting: in the video MayBee posted, at the 8:10 mark, the US anthem finishes playing. The queen (along with everyone else, except Obama) picks up her glass and raises it to the president. He returns the gesture by nodding, rather than picking up his own glass and drinking after she does.
Isn't the proper response to raise your glass as well?
This was just so painful to watch.
You mean they weren't playing another American Song (My Country, 'Tis of Thee) whilst he toasted?
What? That's the British National Anthem God Save the Queen (or King - depending on the monarch)?
Why'd they copy our song?
/snark
Affirmative action can get you the job. It can't make you fit for the job.
@DBQ: Sadly, I have never been pheasant hunting, and I welcome your instruction in such matters. We can only hope that the inconsiderate bastard who stood uprange and ruined Cheney's shot had the grace and tact to apologize for his error before bleeding out. I amend my statement. The VP's hunting companion committed a faux pas that was truly worthy of regret, and we should keep it in mind when considering the President's burnt toast.
I think Mr Obama to be entirely tone deaf--it isnt the botched toast--thats trivial--the fact that he hasnt deigned to return to the United States to visit the centra US that has been ravaged by tornados says volumes about his total lack of empathy for ordinary americans.
The man is an unfeeling total fucking idiot and disgraces the office he holds.
he cannot be gone soon enough
regretably we are probably stuck with this ignorant clown for 6 more years
William--didnt realize the thread was about QUAIL hunting and VP Cheney--but nice try anyway
Not "that's very kind," but "Set it down."
wv: dioni
It can't make you fit for the job.
Born w/a silver spoon can get you the job.
And then when someone tells you "America is under attack!" you look like a deer caught in the headlights!
apologies to deer ...
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