Another blow to our relations with Great Britain

Remember Anita Dunn? She's hard to forget. Obama's former communications director, she's the one went on the offensive against Fox News and declared herself a proud admirer of Mao Tse-tung. (The president really knows how to pick his staff.) Now comes word that Dunn is headed for Great Britain...to advise Conservative Party leader David Cameron.

It's a bizarre move on her part. As Politico pointed out, American political advisors are usually very careful about going to work across the pond. In contrast, Democrat strategist and Hillary Clinton ally Robert Shrum has been working for Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Instead, Dunn has signed on with Brown's most bitter rival and harsh critic.

Don't get us wrong, we here at ObamaWatchNews have nothing but disdain for the incompetent Gordon Brown. But nevertheless, he is the leader of Britain right now, which is supposed to be America's strongest ally. Allowing Dunn to be a hired gun for the Conservatives is just another example of Obama undermining our relationship with the Brits. Maybe when she's over there, Dunn can search for the bust of Winston Churchill that the president removed from the Oval Office and shipped back.

One final lesson here: Anita Dunn is an unprincipled hack. David Cameron may be to the left of American Republicans, but he's certainly more conservative than Barack Obama (and Mao). Looks like Anita Dunn isn't just a radical. She's also a political mercenary for hire.

Buh bye Desiree Rogers

Usually Obama's old Chicago friends are the safest people in his administration. But even though she's a Windy City crony, the clock has finally run out on Obama's social secretary Desiree Rogers. The Washington Post has reported that Rogers will resign some time next month. We at ObamaWatchNews are heartbroken over this devastating loss for the country. In memoriam, here are some of Rogers' greatest hits.

Embarrassing Obama in front of all of Washington, DC. Rogers planned Obama's first state dinner, which was famously infiltrated and crashed by the Salahis. She later admitted she didn't even have staff standing around checking credentials.

Embarrasing Obama in front of all of Great Britain. Rogers was the brain child behind Obama's gift of several DVD movies to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, even though the DVDs wouldn't even play with European appliances. Meanwhile Brown's gifts were somewhat less juvenile, including a pen holder carved from the wood of a famous anti-slave ship and a seven-volume biography of Winston Churchill.

Embarrassing Obama in front of all of Norway. Rogers planned Obama's trip to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway and made a big point of snubbing the Norwegians wherever possible. Not included on Obama's schedule was a lunch with Norwegian King Harald V and a visit to the Nobel Peace Center, both hugely significant traditions for all Nobel Prize winners. Norwegians were outraged and called Obama, among other things, "arrogant." They noticed.

Embarrassing Obama in front of all of Saudi Arabia. It was Rogers who advised Obama to bow to the king of Saudi Arabia. Of course, heads of state are never supposed to bow under diplomatic protocol. The incident was so embarrassing, the White House began claiming that Obama hadn't bowed at all, but had just dropped something on the ground. Many people believed this until...

Embarrassing Obama in front of all of Japan. Obama bowed to the Emperor of Japan too. (He sure does drop a lot of things. Butterfingers!) This was a very significant state visit and Rogers advised Obama to act like he was in a Kung Fu movie.

The curse of Obama

To be fair, this isn't as bad as Obama predicting unemployment wouldn't rise above 9%. Or that the Olympics would be hand-delivered to Chicago. Or that the earth's climate would continue to get hotter. Or supporting the losers in the Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts elections. But it's still fun to point out that Obama's support is the kiss of death to any venture. Obama had the Indianapolis Colts as "favored" over the New Orleans Saints. Last night the Saints trounced the Colts 31-17. Geaux Obama.

Interestingly, another failing premier also has the curse. UK Prime Minster's Gordon Brown couldn't back a winner if his life depended on it. Guido Fawkes, one of the UK's best bloggers, has annotated his jinx over the past couple of years and now calls him Jonah Brown.

Why does Desiree Rogers still have a job?

The Chief of Protocol is a very important position in any presidential administration. Under the auspices of the State Department, this appointee advises the president on international customs and protocol, making sure the leader of the free world doesn't embarrass himself overseas. Naturally, Obama didn't get around to appointing a Chief of Protocol until August, and his selection, seasoned Hillary Clinton aide Capricia Marshall, still isn't allowed to travel abroad with Obama. Instead, the president relies on his Social Secretary, Desiree Rogers, an old Chicago friend.

Meanwhile, here's the latest news out of Norway, where Obama traveled to accept his premature Nobel Peace Prize.

"News outlets across the region are calling Obama arrogant for slashing some of the prize winners’ traditional duties from his schedule. “Everybody wants to visit the Peace Center except Obama,” sniped the Norwegian daily Aftenposten, amid reports the president would snub his own exhibition at the Nobel Peace Center. 'A bit arrogant—a bit bad,' proclaimed another Aftenposten headline.

'It’s very sad,' said Nobel Peace Center Director Bente Erichsen of the news that Obama would skip the peace center exhibit. Prize winners traditionally open the exhibitions about their work that accompany the Nobel festivities. 'I totally understand why the Norwegian public is upset. If I could get a few minutes with the president, I’d say, ‘To walk through the exhibition wouldn’t take long, and I’m sure you would love the show. You have no idea what you are missing.’'

Meanwhile, the Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet is reporting that the president has declined an invitation to lunch with King Harald V, an event every prize winner from the Dalai Lama to Al Gore has attended. (The newspaper’s headline: 'Obama disses lunch with King Harald.')"

Yet another offensive snub to a foreign ally, courtesy of Desiree Rogers. Many of Obama's biggest gaffes can be traced back to the inexperienced Social Secretary. It was Desiree Brown who bought a collection of DVD movies for Obama to give to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, even though the American DVDs wouldn't work with British appliances. (Gordon Brown's gifts to Obama included a pen holder carved from the wood of a famous anti-slave ship and a seven-volume biography of Winston Churchill.) It was Brown who thought it would be appropriate for Obama to present Queen Elizabeth with an iPod. It was Brown who advised Obama's embarrassing bows to both the king of Saudi Arabia and the emperor of Japan, humiliating and unprecedented gestures from a visiting head of state. And it was Brown who organized the recent state dinner which was somehow infiltrated by the party-crashing Salahis. Can't Obama just listen to the experts, like Capricia Marshall, instead of incompetent Chicago pals like Desiree Rogers?