Obama stood up to offer a toast, and before he could complete it, the orchestra started playing. So, he finished what he was saying.
Yes, it was a gaffe, but gaffes have been made before. But when Obama makes them, of course everyone goes to town.
Libs blame botched toast on everyone but Obama.The first thing you look at is the Queen, and you note the Queen fully aware of the gaffe that's taking place here. I mean you do not offer the Queen your glass until the music's over. You don't pick up your glass and offer your Queen your glass to toast until the music's over. He had no teleprompter 'cause you can't put one in there so he's got no cards and they're on the table, and they're way back so he has to lean over to read every other word of the toast. He blows the word "vitality" at the beginning; he pauses because he's unsure of himself and the band (for whatever reason) starts playing. My take, when I look at it, I said, "This is like the Academy Awards where some recipient's gone on and on too long and they give him the hook." So he continues to give the toast while the band is playing "God Save the Queen." He finally figures out he should stop that. It's totally botched.
Here is the audio of that: Buckingham Palace yesterday in London.
OBAMA: Ladies and gentlemen, please stand with me and raise your glasses as I propose a toast: To Her Majesty the Queen. The vit...al...ity of --
(band strikes up "God Save the Queen")
OBAMA: -- the special relationship between our peoples and in the words of Shakespeare, "To this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England. To the Queen...
RUSH: At that point he gave up. The Queen's looking dumbfounded, not looking at him. He's offering her the glass. She doesn't clink it. He finally goes on a little longer and he says again "to the Queen," and they clink glasses and so forth. Now, here's the media montage. Of course, now, if Bush had done this it would have been portrayed as a horrible breach of protocol, and an international incident, but with Obama it's everybody else's fault but his.
JAKE TAPPER: The orchestra mistakenly played the British National Anthem, "God Save the Queen," before the president was done. He forged on undeterred.
SUNLEN MILLER: Interrupting the President's toast! Music over his words to the Queen.
CARL QUINTANILLA: The band started up.... Band started up before he was finished with his toast.
ROBERT MOORE: The band struck up the National Anthem too early.
CHIP REID: The special moment turned awkward when the orchestra started playing "God Save the Queen" while the president was still toasting.
ARTHUR AIDALA: Poor Obama! I don't think he knew what to do.
F. CHUCK TODD: Somebody in the President's, uh, protocol staff, uh, clearly didn't brief him well enough.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: She kind of left him hanging. Would it have killed her...?
F. CHUCK TODD: She really did! (chuckles)
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: She could have just said, "To heck with the protocol; I'll clink your glass."
RUSH: See? The Queen botched it. The Queen should have understood what was going on. Obama was poorly briefed. (sigh) I'm tired of people making excuses for these people. It's everybody else's fault but the Obamas -- the worldly, sophisticated Obamas. He seems to be... I mean, "God Save the Queen!" I mean, it's a national anthem. You shut up. He seems to be unaware that it is standard practice to pipe down and stand at attention when a national anthem is being played. He was the last guy to put his glass down. He was the only guy with his glass up, put his glass down when he finally figured it out and stood at the quasi-attention. Toasts to the Queen by tradition are brief and to the point. Nobody gives speeches. You say, "To Her Majesty the Queen," and you sit down and you shut up. In fact, I don't even think it was the fault of the orchestra, because traditionally toasts to the Queen are very short and they're not much more involved than "To the Queen." That's it. I think the band probably figured, "Okay, that's toast. Let's get it in gear, here, Lester." It was kinda funny to watch.
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