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Wednesday, August 01, 2012

Churchill bust debacle: ‘amateurish’ Obama White House remains firmly in denial over snub to Britain

Team Obama tries to peddle the story that the Churchill bust was on loan and the when Obama came into office the most natural thing was to give it back.  Of course they first lied about giving it back at all. 

Once they admitted their first lie, here’s how the Obama Press secretary put it:

Uh – as the White House curator has previously explained and I believe as we’ve explained on the end of the day on Friday – uh – the bust was loaned to President Bush by the British government. Uh – as is customary at the conclusion of President Bush’s term and before President Obama entered the Oval Office – uh – the bust was returned to the British Embassy.


Here’s what really happened.

Barack Obama has sent Sir Winston Churchill packing and pulse rates soaring among anxious British diplomats. A bust of the former prime minister once voted the greatest Briton in history, which was loaned to George W Bush from the Government's art collection after the September 11 attacks, has now been formally handed back. The bronze by Sir Jacob Epstein, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds if it were ever sold on the open market, enjoyed pride of place in the Oval Office during President Bush's tenure. But when British officials offered to let Mr. Obama to hang onto the bust for a further four years, the White House said: "Thanks, but no thanks."


It is very clear from these articles in two of Britain’s leading newspapers that the British government gave every opportunity for the Obama White House to keep the Churchill bust, but the president chose not to do so. After all, he could easily have accommodated both Lincoln and Churchill in the Oval Office. The White House, however, remains firmly in denial over the return of the bust, which carries great symbolism on both sides of the Atlantic.
How do you know when Team Obama's lying? Their lips move.

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