What happened to impressing foreign leaders??

On Monday, April 6, 2009 I was reading through the editorials in the Salt Lake Tribune when I came across one that read "Obama's mistakes." I naturally thought it would be something about GM/Chrysler/AIG etc.. but no it was about how Obama and how his administration have failed time and time again at impressing leaders from other countries and even going as far as insulting them. So I dug a little deeper and all that is in the editorial from the trib is true even the Associated Press have written some stories about these blunders.

Read it all for yourself, First up... The Salt Lake Tribune Public Forum letter...

Obama's mistakes

First, President Barack Obama's people mix up speeches for him and Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen. Then Obama gives British Prime Minister Gordon Brown videos that are unplayable in Britain, doesn't offer Brown the traditional joint White House press conference and crassly returns the bust of Winston Churchill in the Oval Office that was loaned after 9/11 as a token of the bond between the two nations.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gives Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov a red button with a misspelled Russian word meaning "overcharge" instead of "reset." Now President Obama sends a letter to French President Jacques Chirac stating that he is looking forward to working with him. Problem is, Chirac hasn't been president for two years, and current French President Nicolas Sarkozy is miffed.
I thought these people were the smartest in the world, and that their supposed aim was to regain respect from foreign leaders. So far, they've been a laughingstock.
And George W. Bush was supposed to be a dumb frat boy with no nuance and Sarah Palin was the hick who didn't know foreign policy or protocol!
Bill Spiva
West Jordan

Thanks, Bill for keeping Americans informed. Now, the articles that I found supporting Bill's above statements...

"Obama Thanks Himself, Irish PM Repeats Speech in Teleprompter Meltdown" http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread446748/pg1

"Busted: The Churchill Flap" http://www.newsweek.com/id/185839

"Reset Button" http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/magazine/05wwln-safire-t.html

"Barack Obama Insults the French" http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1586748/barack_obama_insults_the_french.html