Two gift-gaffe days in a row for Obama administration
posted at 5:40 pm on March 6, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
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Yesterday, we talked about the incredibly thoughtless snub from the Obamas to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in the traditional gift exchange in Brown’s first visit to the Obama White House. Today, Hillary makes it a gaffetastic week by proving to the Russians that the State Department can’t translate worth a damn:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton opened her first extended talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov by giving him a present meant to symbolize the Obama administration’s vow to “press the reset button” on U.S.-Russia relations.
She handed a palm-sized box wrapped with a bow. Lavrov opened it and pulled out the gift: a red button on a black base with a Russian word peregruzka printed on top.
“We worked hard to get the right Russian word. Do you think we got it?” Clinton asked.
“You got it wrong,” Lavrov said.
Instead of “reset,” Lavrov said the word on the box meant “overcharge.”
Clinton and Lavrov laughed.
Yeah, I’m sure Lavrov laughed. Later, he probably told his deputy, “Tell the crypto guys they can take it easy.”
Some will say, Come on, it’s just a light moment, but let’s think about what Hillary was doing here. She was making fun of the previous administration’s diplomacy with her “reset” button, a rather nasty piece of work. I’ll bet the Bush administration and Condi Rice would have gotten the translation correct before making that joke — and I’d bet even more money they wouldn’t have thought to make fun of Hillary’s husband in that fashion in the first place.
Can we get a reset button?
Update: Tommy Christopher makes a point I neglected:
Anyone who remembers a time from the Reagan era on back would know that the last thing you want to give Russia is “the button,” no matter what’s written on it. Why not just give Vietnam a “tripwire of friendship?”
Update II: Closing Velocity notes that the Russians seem inordinately amused at Hillary’s expense. And the Czechs and the Poles aren’t exactly cheering at this development either.
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Easy button ain’t so easy for these clowns
gatorboy on March 6, 2009 at 5:44 PM
Dopes and Strange
blatantblue on March 6, 2009 at 5:45 PM
Chavez calling on Obama to submit to Socialism
jp on March 6, 2009 at 5:45 PM
I wish we had a reset buttom for the 2008 election
jp on March 6, 2009 at 5:46 PM
At least someone made an effort to customize the stupid button by putting a Russian word on it. Obama would have just given one of those EASY buttons from Staples.
By the way, by implying that America needs to “RESET” its relationship with Czar Putin, aren’t we really just saying “here’s my lunch money, please don’t hit me”?
Cicero43 on March 6, 2009 at 5:47 PM
Obama got an EASY button at Staples and whited it out.
JiangxiDad on March 6, 2009 at 5:47 PM
Obama/Hillary/Dems = NO CLASS
jp on March 6, 2009 at 5:47 PM
lol
JiangxiDad on March 6, 2009 at 5:47 PM
Bozhe moi. Kakie duraki.
JamesB on March 6, 2009 at 5:47 PM
I really despise this bringing politics into foreign relations. It is so absurd and this gift gaffe proves the point.
msmveritas on March 6, 2009 at 5:47 PM
yep, don’t think they don’t sense the weakness which will motivate them to do something
jp on March 6, 2009 at 5:48 PM
Condi is a Russian Language specialist, and no Russian diplomat ever said she mistranslated something to them.
Is this the smart diplomacy I’m paying for? Oh, by the way, it is really creepy to have a picture of a Commie with his finger on a RED button and have the US Secy State laughing.
eaglewingz08 on March 6, 2009 at 5:48 PM
He may soon be deposed. If the US wasn’t so god-awful stupid, our diplomats there would know that.
JiangxiDad on March 6, 2009 at 5:48 PM
I hope that Hillary’s elite force of Ivy leaguers don’t try to translate Persian when she meets with the Mad Mullahcrats of Iran.
Buy Danish on March 6, 2009 at 5:49 PM
Hey State Dept.!
Weight of Glory on March 6, 2009 at 5:49 PM
This
sad day for America
jp on March 6, 2009 at 5:50 PM
Damn…is there anybody in this administration that is competent? No Russian speakers in the State Department? WTF?
genso on March 6, 2009 at 5:50 PM
So the box said, “Press the
resetOVERCHARGE button.” Sounds like an they mixed up gifts. This one was for the universal healthcare roll out.WashJeff on March 6, 2009 at 5:50 PM
So that’s what they’ve done with Joe Biden, they put him in charge of gifts.
rbj on March 6, 2009 at 5:51 PM
the comics could so easily Mock Obama/hillary right now….but will not.
Remember when bush tried to open a door that was locked overseas? we saw that clip forever
jp on March 6, 2009 at 5:51 PM
Al Queda, Iran, and Russia are positively gleeful, we are so screwed.
msmveritas on March 6, 2009 at 5:51 PM
*snort*
Buy Danish on March 6, 2009 at 5:51 PM
All comments about ‘whited’-ing something out should be attributed to Michelle, not Barack
gatorboy on March 6, 2009 at 5:52 PM
I always wondered what would happen if we had elected one of the Northeastern Commie/Liberals during the Cold War, we are starting to find out.
amazing that during wartime era Clowns like this could get elected to lead us.
jp on March 6, 2009 at 5:53 PM
I say we just have the finalists of American Idol change places with everybody in this administration.
Star20 on March 6, 2009 at 5:53 PM
Laughter is the best medicine. Thank God Obama provides these laughs otherwise it would all be just miserable.
WashJeff on March 6, 2009 at 5:53 PM
The Obama administration restoring America’s image abroad… one cheap easy button at a time
gatorboy on March 6, 2009 at 5:53 PM
So, ’smart diplomacy’ means America becoming the embarrassment of the world.
I laugh only because I have no tears left to cry.
youngTXcon on March 6, 2009 at 5:53 PM
Really this was code for “Step it up.” Now we have to figure out whether she meant this for the Iranian Nuclear Projector Russian Reexpantion.
- The Cat
MirCat on March 6, 2009 at 5:54 PM
We’re only allowed one reference to diety per post… read up on the TOU
gatorboy on March 6, 2009 at 5:54 PM
Hilary: Yob t’bya. Suk’m sen….
J.J. Sefton on March 6, 2009 at 5:54 PM
OMG! Check out the finger on the red button. This can’t be good for Hillary.
BetseyRoss on March 6, 2009 at 5:54 PM
Makes you wonder who did the translation and where they are now working.
albill on March 6, 2009 at 5:55 PM
In other new, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today accepted a bust of Vladimir Lenin from Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as a gift to President Obama. The bust of Lenin will be placed in the space previously occupied by the bust of Winston Churchill.
TheBigOldDog on March 6, 2009 at 5:55 PM
You can watch the video of this exchange here. You can also find a link to video of the second of Sec Clinton’s gaffes that occured in front of a group of European parliamentarians in which she said, “Never waste a good crisis.”
If it weren’t so simultaneously bile- and vomit-inducing I would just settle back and laugh about how much ineptness is showing.
bryanmyrick on March 6, 2009 at 5:55 PM
Heck. Pick randomly out of the phone book. My finger landed on Nathan R Junior.
WashJeff on March 6, 2009 at 5:55 PM
Thank God the “adults” are back in charge of foreign policy. I was so tired of Bush’s “cowboy diplomacy.”
WV736 on March 6, 2009 at 5:55 PM
Correct. You’re a team. And it worked well the first time. Michelle whited-out Obama’s orig. birth certificate, and Obama pushed the button faxing it to Kos :)
JiangxiDad on March 6, 2009 at 5:56 PM
1. “Overcharge” sounds more like the button American voters pressed back in November. And now the bill has come due.
2. Would a “reset” button have taken Russia back to pre-1917? If not, what would have been the point?
3. Prediction: in his next major speech, the president will be forced to utter the phrase, “No one messes with Hillary!”
cackcon on March 6, 2009 at 5:56 PM
s.b. They’re a team
JiangxiDad on March 6, 2009 at 5:56 PM
It looks like a Fisher Price toy.
Best Government eva!
This is what 8 years of constant Liberal squealing about GW Bush’s intelligence level gives us?
Get to the life boats people.
Seriously though, the Russians are going to eat Obama for lunch.
Obama’s soaring telepromptoratory won’t help–and neither will the boneheads he appoints.
Montana on March 6, 2009 at 5:57 PM
That’s the secret Obama sign. He must be on the inside.
genso on March 6, 2009 at 5:57 PM
Hillary: My hovercraft if full of eels!
Lavrov: Huh?
Hillary: “Ya! Ya! Ya! Ya! Do you waaaaant … do you waaaaaant … to come back to my place, bouncy-bouncy?”
SPCOlympics on March 6, 2009 at 5:57 PM
They really dont have a f’in clue
Viper1 on March 6, 2009 at 5:57 PM
It’s worse than that; they screwed up translating ONE word. When they were ordering PM Brown’s DVDs from Amazon, do you think they could have taken another 2 minutes and found a Russian/English dictionary?
Sharp as a sack of wet mice, this bunch.
landshark on March 6, 2009 at 5:58 PM
This administration sets an all time record- Ignorance!
christene on March 6, 2009 at 5:58 PM
In Russian, the button says “LAUNCH”
Cicero43 on March 6, 2009 at 5:58 PM
Hard hitting stories here at HotAir
Terry Silver on March 6, 2009 at 5:58 PM
LOL… yeah, simple mix up…
Reid and Pelosi are wondering why they got a Fake Button with RESET on it…
Romeo13 on March 6, 2009 at 5:59 PM
Yeah, this new administration has REAL CLASS!
GarandFan on March 6, 2009 at 5:59 PM
These Libtards are the same people who claimed GWB & Sarah Palin were dumb. The same people who said John McCain was out of touch & too old. The same people who call Bobby Jindal a policy geek.
I bet these fine people wouldn’t have embarrassed the USA like the Obahmbo Magic circus has in just 2 weeks.
portlandon on March 6, 2009 at 5:59 PM
Sure they do. It wasn’t an error. It was a reminder for the Russian’s not to overcharge us for the “political re-education” and economics lessons comrade.
TheBigOldDog on March 6, 2009 at 5:59 PM
This just in…
…”Obama blames previous administration for hiding the “Easy” button from him. Claims that’s why everything still seems so hard. The President was overheard to say to one of his aides ‘It’s a big red button. How hard can it be to find!’ all while testing his new teleprompters and one-handedly texting from his Blackberry. This reporter for one is amazed at his multi-tasking skills, which are unparalleled in the history of the Presidency.”
Maybe it’s just me, but the people in charge are rank amateurs and I feel like I’m watching another incredibly bad Reality TV show.
timajin on March 6, 2009 at 6:00 PM
There are front desk clerks at hotels near international airports more qualified for foreign service than these idiots.
genso on March 6, 2009 at 6:00 PM
If you think about it, unwittingly they picked the perfect word for the relationship, “overcharge.” It’s just that the U.S. will find out the hard way what that means.
Kindergarten in full fledged action, at our cost and peril.
Entelechy on March 6, 2009 at 6:00 PM
The State Department didn’t necessarily screw up. They were merely providing a repleca of the big red “OVERCHARGE” button that Obama. I believe he presses it every time he thinks up new “stimulus” item.
darii on March 6, 2009 at 6:02 PM
Not a phrase to be translated but one word. One word. One. Word. Yet Hillary botched it. Gotta love Lavrov – tactless as Michelle.
BHO Jonestown on March 6, 2009 at 6:02 PM
I’ve traveled the world, I’ve seen what other world leaders look like when presented in short news segments. While it is true that GWB looked like an amateur among his refined professional peers, I never thought I’d so quickly see the day that the current administration manages to make itself appear even less classy.
I seriously doubt GWB ever presented a world leader with a DVD set. I mean…seriously. W T F ? ? ?
cannonball on March 6, 2009 at 6:02 PM
what the hell does it even mean to “reset” relations
Chiasmos on March 6, 2009 at 6:03 PM
Doesn’t “overcharge” capture the whole of what’s coming out of Washington? Perhaps a new VRWC spy in State wanted to get the word out…
karl9000 on March 6, 2009 at 6:03 PM
And now, somewhere, sometime, a little country out there is going to push their big red “NUKE” button.
Seriously, if you’re going to insult someone, get the insult right.
Sir Corky on March 6, 2009 at 6:04 PM
I heard Reid and Pelosi were quaking in their boots since they thought RESET was a term used by Chicago thugs to let them know that Obama was going to rub them out.
WashJeff on March 6, 2009 at 6:04 PM
More Hillary gaffes here, but my favorite part of this Reuters story comes at the end:
Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering was effusive in his praise, saying that with the new administration, the United States and Europe once again “share the same values.”
“What you said mostly could have been said by a European,” he told Clinton after she fielded questions ranging from climate change to energy security and aid to Africa and one on gay rights from a participant wearing an “I love Hillary” t-shirt.
Buy Danish on March 6, 2009 at 6:04 PM
Now that the Russians have a “read” on Obama’s backbone, eventually they’ll launch a missile strike against some neighboring country in Europe or Asia. When it happens, HotAir has the perfect photo to go with the story.
Cicero43 on March 6, 2009 at 6:05 PM
Hmm.
darii on March 6, 2009 at 6:06 PM
Hillary doesn’t know that Lavrov was laughing AT US NOT WITH US.
portlandon on March 6, 2009 at 6:06 PM
“Overcharge”? LMAO! We’re now a joke to the Brits and a joke to the Russians, all in the timespan of less than 24 hours. Courtesy of the “competent” Obama adminstration.
We used to have a Secretary of State who spoke Russian, now we have a Secretary of State who acts like she drinks White Russians.
Norwegian on March 6, 2009 at 6:07 PM
I went backed and looked at the picture, I thought that was Hellary with David Letterman.
WashJeff on March 6, 2009 at 6:08 PM
They just accidently gave the Russians the wrong button. The overcharge button was actually meant for Congress and the stimulus bill.
DAT60A3 on March 6, 2009 at 6:08 PM
THERE WILL BE BLOOD
blatantblue on March 6, 2009 at 6:08 PM
George Bush may have invaded Iraq to get rid of WMDs that didn’t exist, but that is nothing compared to a mistranslated gag gift. History will not look kindly upon the Obama administration.
e-pirate on March 6, 2009 at 6:11 PM
You know Hillary probably used Rosetta Stone software, the kind 10,000 US diplomats swear by (according to the ads). Indeed it’s lucky Hillary didn’t write on the button, ‘je voudrais le poulet’, otherwise we might have another Clinton Lewinsky scandal.
eaglewingz08 on March 6, 2009 at 6:12 PM
I landed on Navin Johnson. : )
thomasaur on March 6, 2009 at 6:13 PM
Y’all saw this coming right. These folks have no experience to speak of. The Big ‘O’ was a community organizer and senator for less than two years and Shillary rode into the senate cuz she was Bill’s wife. According to the Big O we’re facing extraordinary economic challenges and mounting international issues…so I’m certainly not shocked at how these things are being handled by under qualified people.
Hopin’ y’all can spare me some change, gotta git me a gat!
timajin on March 6, 2009 at 6:13 PM
This is unbelievable. What can she possibly mean when she says, “We worked hard to get the right Russian word?” Our secretary of state doesn’t have access to anyone fluent in Russian?
And she probably thinks that guy was laughing with her . . .
califcon on March 6, 2009 at 6:14 PM
A lot of Dems voted for that war with the same information Bush had. I daresay no Republicans were involved in this idiotic episode.
genso on March 6, 2009 at 6:14 PM
This is worse than Amateur Hour. With amateurs, you get the benefit of their nervous energy and their willingness to learn. An amateur will not assume he is right, and will correct an error quickly, as soon as he recognizes it.
But these morons actually think they know what they are doing. They figure they are the smartest people in the room, so there is no need to be on the lookout for errors.
So they just keep doubling down on every mistake, and our national policy, in every area, remains Stuck on Stupid.
gridlock2 on March 6, 2009 at 6:14 PM
More like “You Bet Your Life” with Groucho. I’m waiting for the duck.
genso on March 6, 2009 at 6:16 PM
What, they don’t have access to google translate?
c.u.shoeless on March 6, 2009 at 6:16 PM
The button should have said, “Perestroika, fellow traveler. Watch our little Nikolai Obama pull your economy down the toilet along with ours.”
/Cackle
whitetop on March 6, 2009 at 6:16 PM
I can see how it is important politically to criticize Bush during the primaries and even the general election. But how is it appropriate to criticize the United States before other world leaders. These people speak as representatives of the United States. They speak for all of us.
RedSoxNation on March 6, 2009 at 6:17 PM
Yeah, really! I mean, wasn’t this touted as the most tech savvy administration evah?
darii on March 6, 2009 at 6:17 PM
Don’t be too hard on them guys. They just mixed up the gifts. The “overcharge” button was meant to be given to congress with regards to the American taxpayer.
Grayson on March 6, 2009 at 6:18 PM
It’s not appropriate, but it’s understandable. Remember, we have been told that the rest of the world hates W with a passion, so it’s a common bond between these jerks.
darii on March 6, 2009 at 6:19 PM
Does anybody know how far off they were with this word?
genso on March 6, 2009 at 6:19 PM
Is this what you voted? Is this what you fought so hard for? Is this what you were promised? Is this it?
TheBigOldDog on March 6, 2009 at 6:20 PM
That’s the scariest thing about Obama. Total self-confidence based on no substantive accomplishments at all. He’s like some dimwitted eight year-old who’s been told he’s brilliant by all of his teachers as a way to build his self-esteem.
I’d feel way more comfortable with a guy who was humble enough to admit he has things to learn.
Cicero43 on March 6, 2009 at 6:20 PM
Incompetence knows no bounds.
stonemeister on March 6, 2009 at 6:21 PM
It’s all russian to me. Now if it were greek, I could help you.
darii on March 6, 2009 at 6:22 PM
I keep getting the sense that children rule over us. And I’m only 25, so I’m not sure that I should really be calling out our much older government officials as immature.
kc8ukw on March 6, 2009 at 6:23 PM
Come on RSN, you know the words. Say it with me now, “Don’t blame us for what these nitwits say. Hey, the don’t speak for us.”
TheBigOldDog on March 6, 2009 at 6:24 PM
I think someone else brought this up, but doesn’t Condi Rice speak Russian fluently? Couldn’t they have dialed her up and had her translate it for them?
Heck I have friends who could translate it for them…
mjk on March 6, 2009 at 6:25 PM
Thanks for the laugh. I owe you one.
genso on March 6, 2009 at 6:25 PM
I blame Rush Limbaugh.
Oh, and Sarah Palin’s shoes.
Y-not on March 6, 2009 at 6:25 PM
Holy F-ing CRAP!
You just can’t make this stuff up. it has been romper room from day one!
Wasn’t it the msm who were constantly implying, if not outright saying that everyone in the Bush admin was sooooo stupid? boy that worm sure does turn, doesn’t it?
i’ll bet W is getting a good laugh at this one.
wait…come to think of it. i bet not. i don’t think you’ll ever see him pull a jimmy carter and publicly criticize a sitting president the way that peanut head did while W was in the hot seat.
W…we sure do miss you, man. Class Act all the way.
sandlin71 on March 6, 2009 at 6:25 PM
Duely noted. lol
darii on March 6, 2009 at 6:27 PM
So what are the odds this will be mentioned on the late night shows? Very low.
darii on March 6, 2009 at 6:28 PM
LMAO.
nickj116 on March 6, 2009 at 6:29 PM
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