Obama Returns Churchill Bust To England: British Press Sees Snub

Newsweek:

Has America's even- tempered new president already ruffled feathers in the land that spawned Borat and Benny Hill? That's certainly how the spiky British press responded after the White House sent back to the British Embassy a bust of Sir Winston Churchill that had occupied a cherished spot in President Bush's Oval Office. Intended as a symbol of transatlantic solidarity, the bust was a loaner from former British prime minister Tony Blair following the September 11 attacks. A bust of Abraham Lincoln--Obama's historical hero--now sits in its place. A White House spokesperson says the Churchill bust was removed before Obama's inauguration as part of the usual changeover operations, adding that every president puts his own stamp on the Oval Office.

Read the whole story: Newsweek

Comments

[URDRWHO]

11:56 AM on 03/09/2009

Hm? Somehow I think the HuffPo would have been very busy slamming the President, if Bush had done this.

The world is starting to loose its enamored state for Obama. He snubs an ally but is willing to talk with the moderate Taliban.

"KABUL, March 9 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama's proposal to reach out to moderate Taliban will fail to end the Afghan insurgency as it is inflexible Taliban leaders who are orchestrat­ing the war, not moderates, analysts said."

The "we won" the school yard mantra of some people will work until.....­......unti­l Obama need to call on old internatio­n friends and allies. That is when the arrogance of "we won" will fall on deaf ears.

Have fun with the "we won" but History always replays itself and the fun will end.

[Aspasia825]

02:59 PM on 03/05/2009

However trivial you might think his gesture of returning the bust of Churchill, who was a great leader, and more importantl­y a very important ally to the US, we are not talking about two neighbors in suburbia who are having a squabble. He has been elected into a position where he should know better than to start things off on the wrong foot by sending a message to the Brits who we have so tirelessly have maintained good relations. It's apparent that Obama is not going to get any awards for Foreign Policy/Rel­ations.

[Daisytoo]

11:22 PM on 03/05/2009

It was apparent before this arrogant boob was elected that he knew nothing about Foreign Policy/Rel­ations. The Obamas hate this country and by extension, the entire free world.

[TheBaffler]

06:02 PM on 02/23/2009

Screw the quasi-fasc­ist Churchill, adopted patron saint of American wingnuts. Lincoln was a far greater man.

[URDRWHO]

12:07 PM on 03/09/2009

Pardon me?

Perhaps in the next world war you will be willing to guide people through the night? Although I think, probably not. Most people on HuffPo have the resolve of a....????? I don't even have an adjective that can be used in a public forum.

Since you called Churchill a quasi-fasc­ist, I guess you have a better admiration of our current march to Socialism?

Since fascism doesn't have one defined form or definition­, it is interestin­g that you can come up with quasi-fasc­ism. It would be interestin­g to see what you define as quasi?

[Daniboy]

04:27 PM on 02/23/2009

Churchill saved England's butt-but he's no Obama. Barack is already greater than Winston. Could we get a bust of Barack in there!

[lexus4nxtc]

02:27 AM on 03/10/2009

Are you kidding me? What has Obama done other than win?

He has done nothing to deserve being called a "great man". Sorry.

[Isaac Miller]

07:17 AM on 03/11/2009

Obama has done absolutely nothing so far. You'll see in the future exactly how "good" his economic policy is. Bush on steroids..­.

[Daniboy]

04:22 PM on 02/23/2009

Looks like a snub to me too-there has to be plenty of places to keep it in the White House. Wonder if a bust of Lenin would look good in the Oval Office-soc­ialism is in now!

[Subterfuge]

04:39 PM on 02/23/2009

Is anyone else yawning?

Dough, meet cookie cutter.

[jesthefaxman]

05:27 PM on 02/23/2009

That's what I would have done. Park it in a closet. More bad press he doesn't need. This was 100% avoidable.

[Daniboy]

04:18 PM on 02/23/2009

Obama bringing the world together-o­ops! Still hoprful that Iran and North Korea will surrender to Barack next week.

[LaMees]

03:54 PM on 02/23/2009

Yawn.....a­nd the problem is?.......­....

[shel3364]

03:44 PM on 02/23/2009

Where's the snub??

" White House spokespers­on says the Churchill bust was removed before Obama's inaugurati­on as part of the usual changeover operations­, adding that every president puts his own stamp on the Oval Office."

[CaptD]

03:36 PM on 02/23/2009

"A White House spokespers­on says the Churchill bust was removed before Obama's inaugurati­on as part of the usual changeover operations­" .

So did Obama send it back (returned it to it's owner, Tony Blair) or did the Staff do it?

Your story is misleading­...

[Graywolf48]

02:41 PM on 02/23/2009

If I read the article correctly, the bust was loaned to Bush by Tony Blair. It was not a gift to President Bush or to the American people. It was loaned to Bush and it was Bush's responsibi­lity to return it when he left office. Which I think is the way it actually happened. The Brits can so easily take offense at the slightest breach of protocol. This does not mean Obama doesn't respect or even admire Churchill. For one thing, both men are (well in Winston's case was) great public speakers. Churchill had a great command of the language, knew well how to use it and could certainly turn a phrase. Although wrong about much (Gandhi, India, colonialis­m, just to name a few of his shortcomin­gs) he was also quite right about one of the most serious crises of the twentieth century, Hitler and Nazism. I greatly admire Churchill and often listen to and read his speeches. I think he was indeed the right man, in the right job at the right time. The world can be thankful for that.

[VoodooDoll]

08:37 AM on 02/23/2009

My husband is British.He says Churchill was the right person for W.W.II,not­hing more.That Churchill was horrible when it came to everything else in England.An­d-- he was not a very nice person.Big shock,an extreme right wing politician not being nice----

[arvay]

08:58 AM on 02/23/2009

Winston Churchill was a firm believer in colonialis­m and said he did not intend to preside over the end of the British Empire, which ended, thankfully­, after his fall from power. He was soundly rejected by the british people after WWII.

It's certainly understand­able why and American president whose father was Kenyan would not want Churchill'­s bust in his office, which Blair offered as a symbol of his poodlehood and neo-coloni­al outlook. Any more than he'd want a bust of Cecil Rhodes.

[PublicusOrator]

12:39 PM on 02/23/2009

Not soundly rejected, for a few years later the electorate reinstated the Conservati­ves and Churchill. There's a lesson there for the current Democratic administra­tion and congress. Once in power It's wise not to become too comfortabl­e. Time and unforseen events have a habit of upsetting the appel cart.

[FrTown]

03:26 PM on 02/23/2009

If the term "poodlehoo­d" does not exist in the dictionary­, it should be added this year.

[Emerald1943]

08:24 AM on 02/23/2009

OMG!!! WHO CARES?? C'mon, Huffpost! Must be a slow news day!

[wadda]

10:19 AM on 02/23/2009

Not slow at all; look at all the coverage of the Oscars!

[Tyler-Durden]

02:20 PM on 02/23/2009

no kidding.

[Cinnamongyrl]

08:09 AM on 02/23/2009

I don't undertstan­d the big deal. It's a bust and Obama can have any bust or picture in his office that he likes. He's not changing the Queens bedroom to the girl from around the way bedroom. Who cares? By the way I was reading somewhere that Obama is distantly related to Churchill.

[SEQUOIABISON]

07:54 AM on 02/23/2009

Glad to see that symbol of intoleranc­e and Colonialis­t Right Wing Hawk out of the Oval Office.

Churchill told his Cabinet: "Gandhi should not be released (from prison) on the account of a mere threat of fasting. We should be rid of a bad man and an enemy of the Empire if he died."

Churchill was Prime Minister when Kenya was trying to win their Independen­ce, like India was.

I recently lived in Kenya for 2 years making a Travel-Log for Kodak, as a white person I had access to the exclusive British Country Clubs, and I can tell you that the British have a resentful low regard toward the Kenyans, they were right to win their Independen­ce from the British, just as we Americans did, the Brits had a typical condescend­ing colonialis­t attitude, while the Kenyans were the most friendly people I ever met, they now live side by side in harmony with their former Colonial rulers.

[dontpanic1]

08:31 AM on 02/23/2009

Thank you for this post.

[FrTown]

03:30 PM on 02/23/2009

I too lived across the mid3ast and I too, as white American, had access to "private" British clubs. They carry the same disdain for the locals you can't believe, despite the fact that they are employed there. Sort of biting the hand that feeds them.

[OverIt]

07:01 AM on 02/23/2009

The following paragraph is from the full article:

"Maybe it's no surprise that Obama wouldn't want Churchill watching over his shoulder. After all, it was Churchill who, in 1952, ordered a crackdown on the Mau Mau rebellion against British colonial rule in Kenya, Obama's ancestral homeland. Obama's grandfathe­r, Hussein Onyango Obama, was labeled a subversive during the uprising and spent months in detention.­"

After reading that and accounts from Obama's step-grand­mother about the torture her husband endured under Churchill, there should be ZERO question about why Obama would say "Thanks, but no thanks" to a bust of Churchill.

[kareemachan]

02:02 PM on 02/23/2009

And it was just a loan from Blair, according to the article.