You know, Barack Obama’s critics called him The One in order to lampoon the adoration from his supporters that seemed to come in inverse proportion to his actual accomplishments. It turns out that his opinion of himself is at least as high as his adoring followers — and Obama apparently thinks the head of the government of India should share it, too, as Kevin Williamson reports at The Corner:
President Obama welcomed Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the White House with words that have inspired snickers in New Delhi:
“Yours is the first official state visit of my presidency, its fitting that you and India be so recognised,” 48-year-old Obama told the 77-year-old Indian leader.
The general reaction in India has been: Who the heck does this guy think he is? Note to the Great Diplomat: When you do a head of state an honor, you don’t remind him, in public, of the fact that you have done him an honor, particularly in self-aggrandizing terms of this sort.
Maybe he expected Singh to bow…
Got an Obamateurism of the Day? If you see a foul-up by Barack Obama, e-mail it to me at [email protected] with the quote and the link to the Obamateurism. I’ll post the best Obamateurisms on a daily basis, depending on how many I receive. Include a link to your blog, and I’ll give some link love as well. And unlike Slate, I promise to end the feature when Barack Obama leaves office.
Illustrations by Chris Muir of Day by Day. Be sure to read the adventures of Sam, Zed, Damon, and Jan every day!
Join the conversation as a VIP Member