You may recall that President Obama committed a diplomatic faux pas by giving British Prime Minister Gordon Brown a box set of 25 American movie DVD's after Brown's gracious gifts that included a wood carving from a ship that helped end the slave trade.

But that is not the end of the Obama administration's stupidity - not by a long shot. Apparently, Mr. Brown had popped some popcorn and sat down in front of the TV to watch one of his favorite movies when, to his horror, he discovered the depths of the administration's amateurishness:

Alas, when the PM settled down to begin watching them the other night, he found there was a problem.

The films only worked in DVD players made in North America and the words “wrong region” came up on his screen. Although he mournfully had to put the popcorn away, he is unlikely to jeopardise the special relationship – or “special partnership”, as we are now supposed to call it – by registering a complaint…

A White House spokesman sniggered when I put the story to him and he was still looking into the matter when my deadline came last night.

I don't think any "Keystone Cops" movies were included in Obama's "present, but the metaphor for this kind of stupidity is apt.