I thought she already had an ipod. I know she has a Wii, or one of the boys does maybe but I know she loves it too!

this is BARELY better than Obama giving the Prime Minister of Britain a bunch of lousy American classic movies on DVDs that cannot be played in European players. Doesn't he have people that could do his gifting appropriately? -Welcome of the United States of Entertainment, Please let us share our crappy forms of media to show how we do foreign relations now.

I don't think I could go to the Queen of England with an iPod for a gift. Even if I thought she'd love it. Maybe an iPod and something amazing, too.

I still can't believe the Brown gaffe hasn't been in the American papers. I hear the British are still upset about it. I hope the iPod goes over well.

starangel82...i agree.

...right because a picture of yourself is a MUCH better gift than an iPod. I'd rather have an iPod full of music from the country the president is visiting from - that'd be way cool. Entertainment speaks a lot about a culture. The good entertainment is considered 'art' after all.

personally i think the photo of herself, while a little lame is kind of a nice gesture bc gifts over a certain amt of money must be kept by the govt at the end of a presidency... so at least this is something he can keep forever

People have really got to shut up about the Ipod. It wasn't simply an Ipod, it was loaded with video of her trips to the United States. Although she does already have one, the one she bought (that we know about) is already four years old. Lastly, it wasn't the only gift. She was also presented with a rare music album autographed by Richard Rodgers. Why Richard Rodgers?

The Queen has a sentimental connection to the music of Richard Rodgers, via the musical "Oklahoma." Reportedly, when she and Prince Philip were courting they used to use the song "People Will Say We're in Love" as a personal signal to one another, humming it when there were others around.

What did she give him? A framed picture of herself and the Prince Consort. That's nice, but it's not exactly a desk made from the timbers of the HMS Resolute (what Victoria gave Grover Cleveland). Yes his gift to Gordon Brown was a gaffe. These gifts were not.

I think the photo of herself is kind of a weird gift. I thought the ipod gift was kind of odd too until I read ducdebrabant's post. It seems like a much cooler gift now.

Ok, I had to come back to check and make sure this wasn't an April Fools post.

And it isn't?

ducdebrabant - thanks for explaining that...honestly, i have a lot of respect for Obama and i knew there had to be an explanation that made sense.

First, I think Obama is doing a great job, and his intentions were totally admirable.
That said, ISN'T THIS A VIOLATION OF BOTH FEDERAL LAW AND INTERNATIONAL LAW? MP3 MUSIC IS NOT TRANSFERRABLE! That just shows the absurdity of current copyright law that a simple act like this could land people in difficulties.

Thank you ducdebrabant for clearing everything up. I love when people comment before they know all the facts. It makes me wonder if they ever feel embarrassed about spouting off nonsense before knowing what's actually happening. Anyways that's really cool what Pres. Obama gave to the queen, way to pay attention to the Queen's interests.

But actually, I don't see what all the fuss is about. These types of gifts to heads of state are mostly symbolic. Finally the U.S. has a dignified President--but some people just have to make something out of nothing.

I hope he deleted those mp3's off of his computer after he put them on the Queen's new iPod, otherwise he's violating the DMCA and should be prosecuted like all those malicious 12 year old girls who are crusading to destroy the music industry.

That's so cool but I'm starting to wonder if Obama has a secret publicity contract with Apple