Brit Pol Lashes 'Unreachable' Obama Team

A British government official has ripped Barack Obama's "unreachable" team as leaders scramble to make arrangements with the White House to organize next month's G20 summit in London, reports the Independent. "There is nobody there. You cannot believe how difficult it is," said the Cabinet secretary. "You get to a certain point, and you can't go any further. A whole new bunch of people come in who probably haven't been in government before."

Though relations between Obama and Prime Minister Gordon Brown appear collegial, the British press has been filled with reports of Obama snubs and Brown's hurt feelings. The most notable instance came over an exchange of gifts—DVDs from the first family and Marine One models for Brown's sons—which suggested a "last-minute dash to the White House gift shop," sniffed the Telegraph. "Give me strength," quipped another writer. "We do have DVDs stores this side of the Atlantic."
(More London stories.)