Bye-bye, Sir Winston
A bust of the former prime minister once voted the greatest Briton in history, which was loaned to George W Bush from the Government’s art collection after the September 11 attacks, has now been formally handed back.The bronze by Sir Jacob Epstein, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds if it were ever sold on the open market, enjoyed pride of place in the Oval Office during President Bush’s tenure.
But when British officials offered to let Mr Obama to hang onto the bust for a further four years, the White House said: “Thanks, but no thanks.”
The article says it may have to do with the President’s background
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.
Does that mean that Obama is letting personal feelings interfere with relations with an ally?
Either way, it looks like the only Winstons in the White House from now on are these:
Tags: Fausta's blog, Winston Churchill
February 15th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Fausta, you’re only getting half the story. Obama is not returning Churchill’s bust but exchanging it for some tasteful nudes of Chamberlain, sketched by Herr Chancellor during his brief stay in Munich.
February 15th, 2009 at 11:32 am
So Marxism does run in the family then?
February 15th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
[...] Fausta, meanwhile, wants to know: Does that mean that Obama is letting personal feelings interfere with relations with an ally? [...]
February 15th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Obama sends Churchill packing…
President Barack Obama has sent a bust of Winston Churchill back to Great Britain. The bust had been loaned to President George W. Bush for display in the Oval Office as an act of solidarity after the 9/11 attacks. When……
February 15th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Any chance of hearing what the Mau-Mau did to other Kenyans, both black and white?
February 15th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Perhaps Barry’s nicotine withdrawl has something to do with him being unable to string 5 words together without using “ah” or “um.”
February 15th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
[...] Jules Crittenden, Riehl World View, Fausta’s Blog, TigerHawk, NewsBusters.org, protein wisdom and Theo [...]
February 15th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
I wonder if he smokes inside the White House…I can just see him lighting up at his desk…putting his feet up and smiling maniacally…I really can.
~T the D
http://thedrunkelephant.blogspot.com/
February 15th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Wouldn’t that violate the federal ban on smoking in federal buildings, T the D? Hmm, “high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
February 15th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
[...] Otherwise, you just become another tin-pot dictator. For example, in the Send-Winston-Packing caper,Fausta asks Does that mean that Obama is letting personal feelings interfere with relations with an [...]
February 15th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
Surprisingly or not, there are quite a few people that still don’t like Churchill and under the circumstances of Obama’s family history too much can be read into the removal of this one piece of sculpture. Richard Burton lost a film role for refusing to go along with a hagiography of Churchill because of calling out the Royal Army during a mining strike in Wales. I doubt if Iraq will ask for the bust considering Churchill was considered responsible for ordering mustard gas attacks against Iraqi rebels in the 20′s.
Three years ago at a picnic in Australia on ANZAC Day I heard a rather tone deaf emissary from the UK consulate extoll on the shared admiration the UK and Australia must share towards Churchill. He was doing pretty well, with the loudspeaker turned to “11″, until the boos and the empty and half empty Foster’s Lager cans flying through the air convinced him that Churchill might not be very popular among the descendents of those whose lives were lost at Gallipoli. At the same picnic the Turkish consul-general spoke and was well-received because he emphasized the shared attributes of both countries, the bravery of their soldiers and he wisely didn’t mention Churchill or George IV.
BTW, the only shrimp I saw at the picnic was a staggerlingly drunk teen who, for fear of being too graphic, simply forgot to put his shrimp back in its shell after visiting the bathroom for relief and a quick technicolor yawn. Look it up!
February 15th, 2009 at 11:25 pm
[...] in their “shock” are quite a few prominent (of course) right wing bloggers who just cannot believe President Obama would make such a horrible gesture to our closest [...]
February 16th, 2009 at 3:30 am
But don’t ya know Fausta? Winston tastes good like a cigarette should!
February 16th, 2009 at 11:15 am
I was going to post something about him exchanging it for a bust of Chamberlain, but Chamberlain after all did eventuall go to war against Hitler, and was responsible for rearmimg.
Now I’m going to sit back and wait for Fausta’s posting about Chavez in Venezuela. Just give me fair warning so I can fireproof my computer.