Barack Obama too overwhelmed with presidency to properly host Brown

The UK Sunday Telegraph tells us today why Barack Obama so badly mishandled the visit by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. It seems the president of the United States and leader of the free world was “overwhelmed” with his new job and too tired to follow protocol and properly host the leader of our closest ally (Emphasis mine):

Sources close to the White House say Mr Obama and his staff have been “overwhelmed” by the economic meltdown and have voiced concerns that the new president is not getting enough rest.

British officials, meanwhile, admit that the White House and US State Department staff were utterly bemused by complaints that the Prime Minister should have been granted full-blown press conference and a formal dinner, as has been customary. They concede that Obama aides seemed unfamiliar with the expectations that surround a major visit by a British prime minister.

But Washington figures with access to Mr Obama’s inner circle explained the slight by saying that those high up in the administration have had little time to deal with international matters, let alone the diplomatic niceties of the special relationship.

Allies of Mr Obama say his weary appearance in the Oval Office with Mr Brown illustrates the strain he is now under, and the president’s surprise at the sheer volume of business that crosses his desk.

A well-connected Washington figure, who is close to members of Mr Obama’s inner circle, expressed concern that Mr Obama had failed so far to “even fake an interest in foreign policy”.

So our new fearless leader is in way over his head, something that so many of us knew would happen. What Barack Obama is dealing with right now is very scary, but it’s not the absolute worst turn of events that has ever happened to our country before. If the president had not tried to play Superman and try to solve every single problem this country has within his first 100 days, he may not be so overwhelmed right now. That is the symptom of poor judgment as a result of his having very little experience.

The only experience he’s ever had within government is his few years in the Illinois senate and the US Senate, and he didn’t do too much in either of those positions. When he was elected to the US Senate, he  immediately began running for president so he did not spend a lot of time getting experience. The only executive experience he’s had was as director of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, which turned out to be a total failure.

So, is the news that Barack Obama and is staff are overwhelmed by, unprepared for, and incompetent in their responsibilities of  running this country a surprise? Not to anyone who paid attention during the election.

What’s even more frightening is that there are some in the State Department who don’t think treating Britain with a little more care and attention is necessary:

The real views of many in Obama administration were laid bare by a State Department official involved in planning the Brown visit, who reacted with fury when questioned by The Sunday Telegraph about why the event was so low-key.

The official dismissed any notion of the special relationship, 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.” The apparent lack of attention to detail by the Obama administration is indicative of what many believe to be Mr Obama’s determination to do too much too quickly.

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air:

At least if he meant to snub Brown, it would suggest a certain competence at this brand of diplomacy.  Instead, we’re told that the Obama White House and their staff are just a bunch of incompetents who got in over their heads.

Which is, of course, the point we made continuously over the last two years.

Indeed we did.