presidential blunders

Much has been made over the gifts, inappropriate or not, that President Obama gave to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown (a collection of classic DVDs) and Queen Elizabeth (an iPod preloaded with photographs and videos of her 2007 visit to the U.S.). Let's see how Obama's gifts stack up historically against a sampling of those given to U.S. presidents from other countries.

• In 1939, the Crown Prince and Princess of Norway gave President Roosevelt a gold enameled tea pot, sugar bowl, creamer and tray.
• In 1956, Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, gave President Eisenhower Adoration of the Three Wise Kings, a 1500 circa painting by a Southeast German master.
• Shimon Peres, then Israeli Defense Minister, gave President Ford a priceless Roman water/wine vessel, likely dating from the first or second century.
• In 1985, the President of Algeria, Chadli Bendjedid, gave President Reagan a saddle made of leather, velveteen, woven cord and gold thread. (A photo of the saddle, shown here, courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration).

To see photographs of all these gifts, and for a closer look at those given to U.S. presidents from foreign heads of state and private citizens, see this website from the National Archives' Tokens & Treasures exhibit.