President cancels a press conference with British Prime Minister

The President schedules and promptly cancels a press conference planned with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Upon actually meeting, the President is given a number of carefully selected gifts, including a pen constructed with wood taken from a British Naval vessel which had played a part in eradicating the slave trade during the Nineteenth Century. In return, the White House gave the Prime Minister a stack of 25 Hollywood DVD’s…Despite the long history of constructive bi-national efforts with Britain—i.e., presently fighting two concurrent wars side by side, an unprecedented intelligence relationship, and a close partner in advancing democracy—a State Department aide tasked by the White House to coordinate the event responded to press inquiries by saying, “There’s nothing special about Britain. You’re just the same as the other 190 countries in the world. You shouldn’t expect special treatment.”