You've Got to Be Kidding: Obama Gives The Queen an iPod?

Hard to believe, but it's even more embarrassing than giving Gordon Brown 25 CDs that he can't watch.

Seriously, how low rent can you get?

Barack Obama met the Queen at Buckingham Palace today and gave her a gift of an iPod loaded with video footage and photographs of her 2007 visit to the United States. In return, the Queen gave the President a silver framed photograph of herself - apparently a standard present for visiting dignitaries.

The Queen already has an iPod, a 6GB silver Mini version she bought in 2005 at the suggestion of Prince Andrew.

Earlier, Mr Obama had spoken of his admiration for Her Majesty but indiacted that his wife was handling the details of their royal meeting. "There's one last thing that I should mention that I love about Great Britain, and that is the Queen," he said at the end of his joint press conference with Gordon Brown.

"And so I'm very much looking forward to meeting her for the first time later this evening. And as you might imagine, Michelle has been really thinking that through -- because I think in the imagination of people throughout America, I think what the Queen stands for and her decency and her civility, what she represents, that's very important."

No, this isn't one man's idea of an April Fool's joke. It's for real.

The BBC's Peter Hunt says: President Obama has given the Queen an Ipod during their private meeting at Buckingham Palace. It contains footage of her state visit to the US in May 2007. The Queen has given the president a silver framed photograph of herself and her husband. The official picture is what she gives all visiting dignitaries.

Obama will probably go find a framed photo of himself to give her.

Update: Compounding the idiocy, iPods are made in China by exploited workers.

Smart diplomacy, my ass.

Update: Good Lord, it gets worse. Obama loaded his own speeches onto the iPod.

Via Jake Tapper.

Photos from the Queen's 2007 White House State Visit
Photos from the Queen's 2007 Jamestown, Va., Visit
Photos from the Queen's 2007 Richmond, Va., Visit
Video from the Queen's 1957 Jamestown Visit
Video from the Queen's 2007 Jamestown Visit
Video from the Queen's 2007 Richmond Visit
Photos from President Obama's Inauguration
Audio of then-state senator Obama's speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and
Audio of President Obama 2009 Inauguration Address

Just imagine if Bush pulled something like this. The left would be wetting themselves.