This is reassuring. Obama didn't snub Brits on purpose he is just unable to concentrate on foreign policy

Three flashbacks to the presidential campaign.

Obama assuring us that his vast executive experience running his campaign actually qualified him to be president, his ridiculing of John McCain for suspending his campaign to return to Washington to work on the TARP legislation, whereas Obama was able to effectively multitask, I believe he used the term walk and chew gum at the same time, and the ridicule of John McCain for his physical infirmities acquired in a North Vietnamese prison cell, while the press assured us Obama was young and fit, his glistening pecs more than up to the strain of the job.

So explain this:

Barack Obama's offhand approach to Gordon Brown's Washington visit last week came about because the president was facing exhaustion over America's economic crisis and is unable to focus on foreign affairs, the Sunday Telegraph has been told.

Sources close to the White House say Mr Obama and his staff have been "overwhelmed" by the economic meltdown and have voiced concerns that the new president is not getting enough rest.

...

But Washington figures with access to Mr Obama's inner circle explained the slight by saying that those high up in the administration have had little time to deal with international matters, let alone the diplomatic niceties of the special relationship.

Allies of Mr Obama say his weary appearance in the Oval Office with Mr Brown illustrates the strain he is now under, and the president's surprise at the sheer volume of business that crosses his desk.

Yay! Our president isn't an incompetent boob, he is just a tired distracted boob.

Even better no one at the State Department seems to understand the problem and in fact seem to be going out of their way to antagonize the British:

The real views of many in Obama administration were laid bare by a State Department official involved in planning the Brown visit, who reacted with fury when questioned by The Sunday Telegraph about why the event was so low-key.

The official dismissed any notion of the special relationship, saying: "There's nothing special about Britain. You're just the same as the other 190 countries in the world. You shouldn't expect special treatment."

I'm sure that will be helpful the next time we ask NATO to commit more troops to Afghanistan or hep us with a Security Council resolution.