Obama Disses Britain Again

From Benedict Brogan at Britain's Daily Mail:
Downing Street was left scrambling to avoid a diplomatic embarrassment today after the White House ruled out a formal press conference to mark Gordon Brown's first formal meeting with Barack Obama.
Officials denied the Prime Minister was being snubbed after it emerged that the new president would not make himself available for the traditional joint appearance before the White House media.
Mr Brown's aides are trying to make the best of what is a distinctly low key visit compared to the family hospitality lavished on Tony Blair by George Bush when they met for the first time. . . .
Mr Obama and Mr Brown listened intently to one another as they sat in armchairs in the Oval Office before a painting of George Washington.
Behind Mr Obama's shoulder was the bust of his hero Abraham Lincoln which replaced a bronze of Winston Churchill* presented by Tony Blair to his predecessor George Bush and removed shortly after the new president took office. . . .
Although Mr Brown's wife Sarah flew to Washington today to join her husband, there were no plans for the two couples to meet and she will instead have a brief one-to-one meeting with Michelle Obama.
After overnight protests from British diplomats, the White House agreed to allow journalists into the Oval Office later for a brief round questions with Mr Obama and Mr Brown after their talks.
Downing Street stressed the 'intimacy' of the formal setting in the President's office, but behind the scenes acknowledged that it was getting used to a new administration that does not appear to have time to spare for diplomatic gestures.
The Prime Minister touched down at a U.S air force near Washington DC this morning ready for talks with Mr Obama, which are likely to be dominated by the global economic crisis. . . .
What the White House has made plain is a 'businesslike' visit has been stripped of any kind of personal touch.
The two men will have what No10 said was a 'working lunch' today but there will be no socialising with spouses even though Mrs Brown is joining her husband to attend his speech to Congress tomorrow.
Mr Brown arrived laden with gifts, including a seven volume, first-edition Sir Martin Gilbert's biography of Winston Churchill.
His wife Sarah will follow him this afternoon for private talks at the White House with Michelle Obama, which will be the first time they meet. . . .
Apart from a separate meeting with Vice President Joe Biden, there are no other events planned.
The Obamas are not holding a dinner for the Browns, and the Prime Minister will not be hosting a reception or dinner at the British embassy. . . .
*Churchill has less happy connotations for Mr Obama than those American politicians who celebrate his wartime leadership. It was during Churchill's second premiership that Britain suppressed Kenya's Mau Mau rebellion. Among Kenyans allegedly tortured by the colonial regime included one Hussein Onyango Obama, the President's grandfather.The rejection of the bust has left some British officials nervously reading the runes to see how much influence the UK can wield with the new regime in Washington.
Is Obama allowing his personal feelings about Britain and Kenya to influence our nation's foreign policy and threaten our special alliance with out Mother Country?
I hope not!