Out With Churchill, In With the Saudi Gift Bonanza — And a Curious List It Is
In the world of diplomacy, the details of official gift giving can speak volumes. Recall that in 2009, President Barack Obama got off to an awkward start with the British when he sent back a bust of Winston Churchill that President Bush had kept on loan in the Oval Office. The British press took it as quite a snub. Obama then compounded the kerfuffle by bestowing upon the Queen of England an Ipod, and giving the visiting British prime minister a box of 25 movie classics on DVDs that won’t play on the British system.
Now, thanks to a recent State Department filing printed in the Federal Register, we have a list of gifts that Obama and his entourage received that same year, 2009, from foreign governments and donors around the world — all accepted on grounds that “non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to donor and U.S. government.” Prominent among them are gifts from Saudi Arabia. In an article headlined “Obama entourage showered with Saudi gifts,” the AFP does the math and reports that Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz gave Obama, his family, and members of his administration more than $300,000 worth of presents. These included a $132,000 ruby and diamond jewelry set and a $14,200 pearl necklace for Michelle Obama, thousands of dollars worth of jewelry for the Obama children, $34,500 worth of presents for Barack, and $108,245 worth of gifts for the White House staff.
Mind you, the Obamas and staff don’t get to keep these presents as personal property. That would be against the law. The gifts are turned over to the National Archives.
Nonetheless, these gifts were officially accepted, to avoid embarrassment. And one might suppose that in the minuets of diplomacy, a certain amount of thought went into the choosing of them. On those grounds, a friend took the time to look through the list — it’s fun to browse — and culled out the full roster of Saudi gifts. If the price tags reflect whom the Saudis value most, then for any tea-leaf, or maybe gold-leaf readers out there, here’s the curious hierarchy that emerges:
Michelle Obama: $146,200
The President: $34,500
The senior diplomatic interpreter, Gamal Helal: $23,400
White House “trip” director, Marvin Nicholson: $18,500
White House staff member (and former counsel to the 9/11 Commission), Peter Rundlet: $12,650
U.S. Charge in Riyadh, Peter Erdman: $12,000
National Security Council’s Puneet Talwar: $10,680
David Axelrod: $9,000
Rahm Emanuel: $8,485
Valerie Jarrett: $5,055
… and so on, down to…
The Kids: $3775 and $3,500
and finally, way down at the bottom, favored with nothing more than a ”gold country plaque with display case,” the secretary of Defense, Robert Gates: $485
That’s some funny stuff right there. Kudos to your friend for grinding through the mass — your friend’s effort was probably worth more than the self-congratulatory plaque that Robert Gates received.
If I were Gates, I’d feel honored that I was held in such low esteem!
For some reason you keep using the word “gifts”. Wouldn’t “tips” be far more apt? These are servants doing the bidding of their benevolent Saudi Masters after all.
Aren’t there good reasons to believe that a Saudi prince paid for Barack Obama’s university education? Has the White House ever disclosed that as a gift? Surely if the purpose of disclosing gifts is to reduce a perceived conflict of interest then Obama should tell all concerned whether or not any foreign power paid for his education. If he is in their debt then we desrve to know. Did he finance his university education? Of course not. Then who did?
When is the country going to understand that Obama returned the bust of Winston Churchill to the British because he DOES NOT LIKE the British? He also gave the Queen and the British Prime Minister those horrible gifts just to humiliate them. Obama is doing this as payback for what he thinks the British did to his father in Kenya. Obama has never made any major speeches saying what good friends the British are or how important their “special relationship” is to us. He makes the usual forced canned statements whenever the British Prime Minister is around at joint press conferences but, once the British Prime Minister leaves, it’s back to business as usual, which usually means kissing up to every arab or Islamic dictator he can find. Obama never, ever, went out of his way to spend more time with the British Prime Minister (like George W. Bush did by having Tony Blair at his ranch), let alone mention him specifically in major speeches, like the State of the Union speeches (as Bush did too). Just another reason to vote this bum out of office in 2012.
It was Obama’s grandfather, supposedly, except that the grandfather wasn’t Kikuyu, so isn’t likely to have been arrested as Mau-Mau, so, just possibly, the whole Obama Mau-Mau story is, well, just that: a story. It’s hardly the only part of the President’s history that seems to have been designed by a fourth-rate “creative writing” class.
Vote him out – agreed. I think he gave the bust of Churchill because he was intimidated by a statesman and man of great character sharing the oval office with him. Pathetic weak man child. Going to take a lot of dough to convince the masses to vote for him again – billion dollars is his plan – don’t be fooled.
That’s basically Denish D’Sousa’s take on Obama in his book, The Roots of Obama’s Rage. I agree with D’Sousa that this is part of Obama because he lionizes the father that deserted him and his mother to become a (failed) post colonial anti-British and American politician in Kenya. Here’s my difference with D’Sousa–while this probably was why Obama bacame a Democ-rat, what Obama is doing in office is no different from what any other Democ-rat nominated by the scum that is the Democ-rat Party’s primary electorate would do. Like Hillary, he hates our country, our military and the thrust of our foreign policy as well as the capitalist free market system. There’s not a dime’s worth of difference between them and that’s why Hillary feels totally comfortable working for him. While hatred of the British was why he joined the Democ-rat Party it’s not the problem with him–the problem is that he’s a Democ-RAT!
I got news for you…the brits also hate Churchill.
The UK long ago became ashamed of Winston because of
his Colonialism, Patriotism, and unabashed hatred of
Communism.
Those alive during the WW11 loved Churchill. Maybe the new Brits such as those from Cyprus, India & Pakistan, or Kenyans
or Republican Irish don’t like him. But he was half American, and forged a good political relationship with the US of A. during WWII. As we needed your military strength to overcome Hitler and the Axis powers. Returning his bust was a slight on the British for sure. O bowed to the Saudi Prince? And not to our Queen? Not that would be a protocol requirement, but nor is it in Saudi Arabia. Just bad manners to discriminate. But the Brits have never liked or trusted the Americans anyway, after the Lend Lease debacle. And – Ever since our intelligence warned your intelligence that the Japanese were headed your way! They muffed up didn’t they? Like they did on 9/11 standing down the defense forces before they hit the towers and ignored warnings of a probably attack on US soil.
Wouldn’t it be more accurate to call these “gifts” bribes? “Please speak nicely of us, we contributed so much to peace and civilization and good feelings.”
Someone better account for all of these “gifts” when he leaves office.
Those gifts are in return for all of the Islamic keister-kissing Obama does. And yes, just who DID pay for Obama’s education. It should be a simple thing to go to the office of the college where he was educated and find out, should it not?
Sure would be a logical step, except that Obama and everyone who has any of his records have colluded to seal all records everywhere, probably in perpetuity, while they no doubt ensure that the records are all destroyed. It is no accident that the new gov of HI first could not verify the existence of the long-form, before Obama’s tame dog in the HI administration told the gov he couldn’t get it for privacy reasons. As for that, I think that the gov could make a case for “compelling state interests” in issuing an executive order in which that law cannot be applied to candidates and elected officials. If BHO can issue an exec order to conceal his past for that reason, then the governor of the state of HI can do the same, since BHO has no control over the official records of the States (10th Amendment time). And wouldn’t that be a major embarassment for his erstwhile friend from his alleged state of birth to be the one to break this open once and for all?
This guy alienates countries that ought to be encouraged allies, but goes out of his way to cater to countries that don’t have the best interests of the US in mind, just his.
When are the American public gonna ANSWER THE PHONE?
The insult he inflicted on the British was a personal one using the office to act outside his obligation to the American people. The snub of the Royal family not inviting him is also a personal one and not directed at the American people. It will be interested to see who is invited.
Most. Classless. President. EVER.
Well, but you know the British deny equal rights to female subjects, beat them if they appear in public with their faces uncovered, and throw them in prison if they’re accused of committing adultery.
Miriam – that is absolute rubbish! They want Sharia law in UK, but if that is granted, there would be civil unrest in UK. It won’t happen. Or were you being sardonic, I think you were. Sure don’t wear a cross or star of david in Saudi Arabia or you will be punished by the religious police. Mind you the women there seem happy and rich. The great difference between Islamic countries is they don’t separate religion from state, ie. a theological run governance and religious laws are entwined with and enforced by moral religious laws. Where as Britain and the US of A, Australia are democracies. We have freedom of religious worship, but our civil laws are paramount over religious laws and conventions.
You drive through the orthodox Jewish sector of Jerusleum on their Sabbath, and you will be stoned. Liberal Jews avoid it too!
How does this compare to the gifts received by George Bush and his father when they were in office? Fair & Balanced??
The whitetrash Clintons had to return enough items they confiscated that it warranted a tractor trailer. You see, first families have to buy the costly gifts they take with them. The tacky couple also desecrated the Oval Office and staff played numerous dirty tricks. They stripped Air Force One of towels, and pretty much everything that wasn’t nailed down.
Quoting from ThinkProgress:
“Other gifts previously received by the Bushes include a diamond and sapphire jewelry set, valued at $95,500, from Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz and “an $11,000 Cartier Santos Dumont watch with an 18K white gold case” from Thailand’s Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra.
Strict ethics laws dictate that a President must purchase gifts worth more than $335, which is why any particularly valuable items aren’t likely to end up on display at Bush’s new home in Dallas.
Among the gifts that President Bush received:
– A baseball bat signed by every living member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame (top left image)
– A pair of handcrafted boots emblazoned with the name and likeness of Bush’s beloved dog, Barney (bottom images)
– An intricately carved rifle from Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek (not pictured)
Among the gifts that Laura Bush received (any decent journalist would say “purchased”):
– A purse from Queen Sirikit of Thailand (top center image)
– An original collage from Eric Carle’s highly popular children’s book The Very Hungry Caterpillar (top right image)
– A first-edition copy of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath (not pictured)”
OK, now we can compare in a “fair and balanced” climate.
Hey,stupid.You have already been told that they don’t keep the gifts.
The size of the gift is in relation to how that person is held in the eyes of the giver.I would say they had it right with Obama’s gift at $34,000.
As a merchant myself, it is my prerogative to set fraud protection to reject payments whose name, address and zip do not match the cardholder’s. McCain did that. BHO did not use fraud protection at all, and he did not report contributions under $100 (that’s legal), unlike McCain who reported who gave every dime. There is no doubt in my mind that Arabs bought the election. They gave $100 at a time with made-up American addresses, all day long. As long as the card was good, the SOB got the money.
It is time for the House to mandate that candidates use credit card fraud protection in order to guard against foreign contributions by insisting the data matches. And they should be able to scrutinize how many times the same card number was used.
I hope that Israel gave Obumbles nothing but BUPKIS, and I mean that in both the figurative and literal sense of the word….
Article I, Section 9, Paragraph (8)
of the United States Constitution:
No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States:
and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them,
shall, without the consent of the Congress,
accept of any present, emolument, office, or title,
of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign State.
Well, but you know the British deny equal rights to female subjects, beat them if they appear in public with their faces uncovered, and throw them in prison if they’re accused of committing adultery.
They are likely to institute sharia law in England any day now, in deference to their Muslim citizens.
This is quite laughable as the Bush Family are corporate partners with the House of Saud, and have been since the early 70′s. Immediately after 9/11 the entire Saudi family was airlifted out of USA against protests by the FBI as they requested interviewing them before leaving US territory. The White House overruled the Department of Justice and secreted them out of the US several days after 9/11.
In addition and Separately When the United states sold Saudi Arabia Billions in defense weaponry, a major beneficiary is the Carlyle Group, in which the Bush Family owns a large stake.
The sad fact is Saudi Arabia funds global terrorism through their Wahabbi training schools,with money generated from partnerships with the Bush and other prominent families.
Why doesn’t anyone on this website have the cajones to investigate true corruption..? Seriously, trinkets take precedence over global terrorism..?
“Alex,” why assume they don’t? Of course it’s also true that Bush’s culpability runs high — something that is not lost on those you deem to scold: reading widely helps. The point of the article was the selectivity of Obama’s umbrage, an important issue.
If you choose to accuse others of a lack of commitment, or courage, however, don’t you agree that you should at least sign your own real name while doing it?
Boy this kid Obama can be bought cheaply, that must be Bush`s fault!
In UK a Official Gift to H.M the Queen is regarded as a gift to the UK and is therefore State Property. So why does Obambi get to KEEP what is given to him merely because he holds the office of President. Surely this leaves him wide open to accusations of corruption and favouritism?
At my company, I am not allowed to accept gifts valued at more than $50 from any business associate at either my own or another company, so as not to create the appearance of any improprieties.
That’s a lot less than the White House.
Read The Arab Lobby to find out just how much money the Saudis spread around and just who they have been able to buy off. This is nothing new…check out how much the Clintons have received from the gulf oil states (their recent statements and attacks against Israel should tip anyone off to their allegiances), as well as past members of Congress and former cabinet officials. Remember James Baker’s consulting firm has a Riyadh office-coincidental that when he reviewed the Iraq war it sounded like Saudi talking points.
Diplomatic gifts to a visiting statesman/woman are not personal
but as one poster said, a gift to the country. Usually, HM gives
signed photos in silver frames. Just a token. Of course there will be those who say, that Obama and Michelle (the power behind the ‘throne’ perhaps) won’t be invited to Prince William’s wedding.
Because he’s black? LOL. When his father married his mother in
Hawaii, he put down he was African. (Not Kenyan?) Actually, he was British. All Kenyan’s after 1920 (I think) were considered British Citizens. He would have had a British passport. His father was part of the Kenyan Independence lobby with the first Kenyan president Joma Kenyata. (Who was imprisoned by the Brits). But at the time of Baracks birth on Hawaiian soil, to an American mother, one could say he was half British? Just to muddy the waters for you all in US. LOL Maybe that is why the Union Jack is still part of the Hawaiian STATE flag.
Personal gifts have to be recorded. I wonder how much Al Gore
got from India and the IPCC?