American presidents seem to have a knack for presenting inappropriate gifts no matter which party they come from. Ronald Raygun gave Pope J2P2 a John Deer cap during a visit to the Vatican.

George Orr wrote:

In return, the Queen gave the President a silver framed signed photograph of herself and the Duke of Edinburgh - apparently a standard present for visiting dignitaries.

Tack-ee.

Agreed.  Among the rich, gift giving involves finding something thoughtful and unique that the recipients will appreciate but haven't thought of buying for themselves.  Neither the Queen’s gift nor Obama’s gift meet these criteria.

Last edited by fnord (2009-04-01 19:56:18)

GooberMcNutly wrote:

Like an albino midget catamite.

Oh, god, not another one. I have three of those already.

If an albino midget catamite is something that the Queen would have liked, then yes that would have been an excellent gift.  She is one of the richest people on the planet, so it isn’t possible to give her something she couldn’t just buy for herself if the idea crossed her mind.  This is why unique and thoughtful is more important than cost when rich people give each other gifts.  The iPod sucked; she already owns one and could buy them by the hundreds without straining her budget, and she owns film footage of every major public event she has been a part of.

Obama isn't that fond of White people according to his books and judging from his past associations, so in his case the Queen would have done better to choose a black catamite for him.  One point I don't understand; is a midget catamite somehow more desirable than one that is of normal height?

Last edited by fnord (2009-04-02 03:08:31)

Barring the iPod, which might be construed as a singularly American piece of technology (whether she already owned one or not being irrelevant), these were supposedly "traditional" gifts. Otherwise, who the fuck gives a picture of themselves to anyone?

Coincidentally, they've released the list of gifts Gavin Newsom received at his wedding to whatserface.

tojo2000 wrote:

pALEPHx wrote:

Barring the iPod, which might be construed as a singularly American piece of technology (whether she already owned one or not being irrelevant), these were supposedly "traditional" gifts. Otherwise, who the fuck gives a picture of themselves to anyone?

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Exactly.  The whole point is to bring something that comes from your country, and what else was he going to bring?  Credit Default Swaps?

A selection of large top quality gemstones, mined, and cut in the US and presented on a silver tray would have been an appropriate gift for the Queen.  Her staff would have seen to it that they were incorporated into jewelry that would please her.

fnord wrote:

Her staff would have seen to it that they were incorporated into jewelry that would please her.

I've already seen her collection, up close and personal. The one thing that woman does need is more jewelry she won't wear.

Emmeran wrote:

tojo2000 wrote:

Exactly.  The whole point is to bring something that comes from your country, and what else was he going to bring?  Credit Default Swaps?

#1 Post of the Year!!!!!

Seconded!  It's the gift that keeps on giving.

The other possible gift would have been a bag of cheese curds.