Because his recent offenses against the British and other allies apparently aren't enough, and despite joining Sarkozy for a photo-op D-Day ceremony to which the Queen is not invited (at least the monarch of the Allied nation that suffered heavier D-Day  losses than everyone else combined can instead listen to Barack's speeches on the iPod he gave her), Obama and his administration continue to divert their rhetorical guns away from our enemies and toward our best friends.

There is no doubt that the British press can be unreliable, but to say the American press is significantly better would make a mockery of obviousness. So the selective attack on the British media is especially inappropriate in light of the beyond-romantic relationship enjoyed by the administration and America's old media:

Wow yeah I'll let the British speak for themselves (highlights are mine):

[...] I cannot recall an instance like this where the President's official spokesman has blasted the press of a key ally - in this case America's closest friend, Great Britain.

This kind of attack would normally be made against the likes of the North Korean or Iranian state media, but in the current climate of "engagement" with America's enemies the White House is far more likely to attack its own allies. Gibbs' remarks have echoes of a senior State Department official's anti-British statements to The Sunday Telegraph after the appalling handling of the Prime Minister's visit in March.

Can you imagine Gibbs making these remarks about The New York Times or The Washington Post, or NBC, ABC or CBS? This would never happen. The British press, especially the Telegraph, has been singled out because they frequently publish articles critical of the Obama administration and are not afraid to take on the status quo in Washington. Increasingly, millions of Americans are turning to online UK news websites for cutting edge reports on American politics and U.S. foreign policy that the mainstream media refuses to cover in the States, especially if it is unflattering to the Obama White House.

Robert Gibbs' completely unwarranted rant against the British press is an absolute disgrace, and the President should disown his views. An unreserved apology by Gibbs is also in order.

For all its talk of "raising America's standing" in the world after the Bush years, the Obama administration is doing a spectacularly bad job of reaching out to its allies. Unfortunately this is the new face of America's public diplomacy, which will only serve to alienate public opinion across the Atlantic. Congratulations Gibbs - you've just made an enemy out of the entire British media, quite an achievement for the man in charge of selling the President's message.

Keep repairing our image, Mr. President!