Barack Obama puts romantic meal with Michelle before Czech politicians

[Pirate Smile]

Barack Obama puts romantic meal with Michelle before Czech politicians

David Charter in Strasbourg

The charms of a wonderful woman and a beautiful city are hard to beat.
So much so that Barack Obama will snub his hosts after arriving in Prague this evening in favour of a romantic Saturday night dinner with his wife, Michelle.

The Czech Republic is a stopover on the US President's first tour of Europe because it currently holds the presidency of the European Union, which rotates every six months.
But rather than meet the country's conservative leaders, with whom the President has little in common and who have been rather rude about the United States recently, the Obamas have decided to spend their only night in Prague soaking up the atmosphere.
“He requested a romantic dinner with a view of Prague, where they can eat the best Czech food,” said a Czech government source. “They have spent days trying to decide on the right restaurant.”

-snip-
Some may think that Mr Obama could be forgiven for preferring his wife's company to that of his hosts.
President Václav Klaus is a vociferous opponent of efforts to combat climate change, which President Obama has made a cornerstone of US policy, while last week Mirek Topolánek, the plain-speaking Prime Minister, described American economic stimulus policies as “the road to hell”.

President Klaus is understood to have invited the Obamas to dinner at Prague Castle, while Mr Topolánek, his rival, offered to take Mr Obama out to a traditional Czech pub.
The protocol for the Obamas' visit to Prague was already complicated by the long-standing feud between Mr Klaus and Mr Topolánek. They were party colleagues until a recent row, when the President walked out and Mr Topolánek lost a vote of no confidence held last week. That gave Mr Klaus the opportunity to ask someone else to form a government.

Much to their discomfiture, Mr Obama has decided to meet both of them at a breakfast meeting tomorrow morning, before the EU-US summit attended by leaders from the 27 EU countries. Later, Mr Obama plans to spend time with Václav Havel, the playwright who led the country out of communism and whom the US President greatly admires. He will probably get as much time as both of the current leaders put together.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6032434.ece

heh - The bastards deserve it.

[firedupdem]

1. Sounds like he made the right decision. Those guys sound like

kooks.

[Pirate Smile]

2. I agree. I had been wondering how he was going to deal with those two clowns.

[firedupdem]

6. He'll see them in the morning at the Breakfast meeting according

to the article. No need for a private dinner with people who are fighting amongst each other and spouting off some negative crap.

[Truthiness Inspector]

3. I don't like this

sorry. President Obama disagrees with the Czech president (a member of the EU), and we are supposed to be happy about this development when the whole message is supposed to be unity across the board? I may well get flamed but I think President Obama needs new advisors.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

4. +1

[SemiCharmedQuark]

52. I don't think Obama chose dinner over the Czechs-He's willing to meet with Iran for starters

And he certainly doesn't agree with them on everything.

Rather, he did not want to be embroiled in the problems of the Czech government. Aloha posted a link below:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/world/europe/04czech.html

[Hugabear]

7. Big whoop.

The Czech president is a certifiable loon, a global warming denier. He should be so lucky that Obama is even giving him the time of day.

[Pirate Smile]

9. I like it just fine.

[sandnsea]

12. Romantic dinner is huge appreciation

The people will like it, no matter what the leaders think. It's a stroke of genius. He simply couldn't bring his beautiful wife to this romantic city without spending some time enjoying it.

[elleng]

18. and getting over his cold, maybe!

great restaurant, I dunno; been there. Romantic? maybe.

[Swede Atlanta]

23. Obama made the right decision............

Even without knowing all the details of the confusion going on within Czech domestic politics, why doesn't the President have a right to an intimate dinner with his wife? He may not have performed miracles during this inaugural trip abroad he has at least begun the hard work of improving America's image in the rest of the world and toward greater cooperation among like-minded nations. He deserves a few hours with his wife and to recharge his batteries. He is, nevertheless, human.

Knowing Obama, if it begins to appear that his choice of dining with his wife over Czech politicians, is creating real harm to our relations with the EU or the Czech Republic, he will personally take steps to address the situation. It seems that a breakfast meeting where all are fresh and rested is a much better time to raise and discuss issues that may divide us than a lengthy dinner at the end of a busy day.

[JTFrog]

30. Yea, new advisors.

And ponies for everyone!

Since he's been making such a jackass out of himself since he started campaigning for President, I think we should dismantle his entire team and put TI in charge. That way I won't have to wait two years for MY FUCKING PONY!

:eyes:

[dionysus]

31. and a jetski, don't forget

:)

[Catshrink]

41. And a dog! WHERE'S THE FUCKING DOG ALREADY?????

[Cha]

55. "New advisors"

:rofl: Did the poster think it was freaking bush?

[SemiCharmedQuark]

49. Rather than choose one over the other, he's meeting *both* of them for breakfast.

What is the problem?

[DevonRex]

54. That's ridiculous.

[mzteris]

56. I think it was masterful!

He didn't have to choose between the two "rivals" - had a "good excuse" - and is meeting with them TOGETHER over breakfast.

Subtle way of saying - I'm not taking sides, and you guys aren't going to manipulate me, and besides, in the overall scheme of things you're not THAT important and we can get along just fine without you. Now, if you want to cooperate, let's have breakfast (not even "lunch"). . .

[babylonsister]

5. Rock on, my country peopel! I guffawed at this

Take a break, regroup, and don't sweat the small stuff. Come on, people.

This cracked me up. I don't think there will be any international incidents over this. Over. :rofl:

[Pirate Smile]

8. I like it. Frankly, the two screwed things up already by their fighting amongst themselves so

tough luck.

I've had enough protocol blather for the year although I just posted a comment that used that word about ten times. Kind of weird. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8318195&mesg_id=8319699

[asdjrocky]

10. Good for them. Klaus is a nut sack.

[Liberalalltheway]

11. It would be a hoot to be POTUS for days like this.......

wouldn't want the job every day though.

[smalll]

13. America, fuck yeah! Screw the Czechs! --

Screw the Brits too! -- Give 'em DVDs (which won't work in England) or iPods (which they already have.)

I'm confused - I thought dissing foreigners was one of those Bush things we were going to "change" away from. :shrug:

[babylonsister]

15. Wrong. The queen wanted the ipod.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8313607

And PS, you are mightily confused. Today was a good day for Dems in Europe, as was yesterday.

Our president and his wife were stellar, and did a fine job of represnting us. You have a fucking problem with that? Let me know. I'll let you know how wrong you are and how lucky you are to enjoy a smart president. :eyes:

[Number23]

51. Babysis, I don't think I've ever seen you curse before!

You have a fucking problem with that? Let me know.

Yowza! :)

[dhill926]

16. wow........

yeah....it really seems like Obama is dissing the foreigners on this trip....

oh, I should edit.....that sarcasm thing......

illegal codesmilie_remote(':sarcasm:')

[firedupdem]

17. So which one of the feuding nut jobs should he have chosen to

hang out with? He's meeting them all in the morning. He can dine with his wife tonight if he pleases. I won't even address the gifts since you must be reading the wrong blogs and newspapers for information on that.

[sandnsea]

20. Gosh, should have elected McCain I guess

sucks to be you.

[xenussister]

21. They weren't just "DVDs," they were important American culture

The MOVIES were the gift, not the DVDs.

And multi-region DVD players are ubiquitous all over the world, including England. Sheesh.

How do freepers get to over 1000 posts without showing their colors earlier? That confuses me.

I can't wait to see where the Obamas eat dinner.

[JTFrog]

29. Thanks for admitting your confusion. Hate to have to point it out to you. n/t

[dionysus]

32. dude, your bitterness my nectar. i love that you are miserable

[Flying Dream Blues]

34. Actually, the Obamas have been very well received by all. You must be getting your news from Fox.nt

[geek tragedy]

36. You must be a fan of Fox News. n/t

[Ninga]

37. EXCUSE ME, EXCUSE ME but the QUEEN ASKED for the iPod and requested certain songs.

Obama is smart and using his stature to send a message. Just because he chooses NOT to spend time with certain anti-American leaders does NOT make him wrong.

Pressure for policy change must come from citizens of each country. If the people of the Czech Republic differ from their leaders regarding climate change and other policies, then they need to press their leaders.

Obama is not going to dilute his stature by sitting with leaders who are not ready to compromise.

[Spazito]

38. LOL, I am shocked, no, really, shocked you "feel" this way...

it is so unlike you to find phony reasons to attack President Obama!

:rofl:

[Doremus]

40. It's obvious which TV channel you've been watching.

Why don't you go back to your home board?

[Phx_Dem]

42. But you don't seem to have a problem dissing the President

for stupid reasons, namingly the iPod ,which the Queen requested, and music book personally signed by author.

[DevonRex]

53. That's just silly.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

14. Vaclav Havel is a cool guy.

The Need for Transcendence in the Postmodern World, by Vaclav Havel.

http://www.worldtrans.org/whole/havelspeech.html

[elleng]

19. WAY cool,

and largely responsible for good things in Czechoslovakia >the Czech Republic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%A1clav_Havel

They will ENJOY meeting him.

[Lindsey]

22. All of a sudden up isn't down, out isn't in, etc. We finally have a

President who's doing things that make sense. That kooky "leader" who doesn't believe in global warming needs to be dealt with in a really special way and I'm sure our President will figure the best way to handle him if it's important.

[Political Heretic]

24. Sounds like the best decision to me!

[Cass]

25. If he had chosen one over the other it likely would have created even more tension.

Meeting with them both the following morning in a neutral location is a good compromise IMO.

[Aloha Spirit]

26. I agree. And if you read the stories leading up, it was the best way to handle it.

Act like an adult, maybe the others will follow his lead.

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/dan_bilefsky/index.html

Dan Bilefsky writes for the NYTimes for Eastern Europe, a lot of their coverage can be found by searching his articles (linked above).

[Cass]

33. Thanks for that link. I didn't realize the depth of the problems

there. They are very informative articles.

[Aloha Spirit]

39. You're welcome!

I was wondering if Obama's European counterparts would become more docile when they met him in person.... they have so far.
I'm very curious to see how things go tomorrow in Prague.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

50. Bingo. Despite this article, I think Obama didn't want to go first, and made the dinner choice 2nd.

If he could have maneuvered the situation to go, he would have. But choosing one over the other would have been a bad thing.

[Aloha Spirit]

27. I was waiting to see what Obama would do. Topolanek: "A way to hell", referring to Obama's

economic recovery plan. Just last week. The guy is flipping out and has already resigned. The other guy, Klaus, is his own brand of crazy,
You can follow the soap opera at the NYTimes, Bilefsky covers Eastern Europe, here are his articles
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/dan_bilefsky/index.html

[BeyondGeography]

28. A primer on how to stay happy as a human being

You like that Obama smile but you don't like this decision? Then maybe you don't understand some basic thinking that goes into the life that produces that smile in the first place.

Dinner with Klaus or dinner with Michelle...decisions, decisions.

[tomm2thumbs]

35. great way to play the cards - let them feel the heat and they can't argue with love of wife

plus they aren't to be trusted - their food would have been suspect (grin)

[Enrique]

43. Czech please

:eyes:

[AyanEva]

44. Sounds fine to me!

I think it was the right decision.

[AnnieBW]

45. Be sure that you have a beer, Barack!

Czech beer is the best in the world!

:toast:

[HopeOverFear]

46. Get your romance on, Obamas!

[populistdriven]

48. Could Malia & Sasha get a younger brother? nt

[FrenchieCat]

47. Perfect handling of this situation for sure! My hubby was telling me about how

once Topolánek criticized Obama and his plans, Topolánek's shit then promptly fell apart,
almost like it was on cue! :rofl:

Those who don't understand any of this should get informed prior to making a comment! :)