Gangsta gifts
“Hip” is how rapt reporters referred to the iPod the president and first lady gave the queen of England. Thanks to his fawning friends in the British and American media, Barack Obama got away with giving another foreign dignitary a vulgar gift.
Shades of the reality show “Cribs” …
The MTV series features hip-hop rappers, and other American royalty, showing off their incredibly gaudy homes, CD, DVD and iPod collections. (If there are any books in the house, these are well-hidden.) They then send the loving camera crew packing.
The Obama iPod was no ordinary “small portable digital audio player capable of storing thousands of tracks in a variety of formats, including MP3.” As any teenager would for his crush, the tacky pair had personalized the thing. How do you customize an iPod for an 82-year-old monarch?
I’m surprised that President Obama wasn’t inspired by “Pimp My Ride” to give QE2 some of those gawdy retro-spinning chrome wheels for the Queenymobile.
