Pretty Pictures

To use a British expression, I'm pretty knackered from all the hullabaloo surrounding the President's visit, so tonight I'm just going to chill out and post some of my favourite pictures from Barack and Michelle's time in London. All of these are pulled from this amazing Daily Beast slideshow.

Barbecuing with the Prime Minister...

With Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg...

Toasting the Queen.

Looking fierce (the dress! Those smiles!)...

Ping pong with the PM...

And, of course, the shoes.

Today in the UK: Parliament and Press Conferences. And Michelle.

"I have known few greater honours than the opportunity to address the mother of Parliaments in Westminster Hall. I am told that the last three speakers here have been the Pope, her Majesty the Queen, and Nelson Mandela - which is either a very high bar, or the beginning of a very funny joke."



President Obama became the first US President ever to address a joint session of the UK Parliament in Westminster Hall.

I've been spending the last couple of days traipsing to and from various different media outlets, assuring them all - in response to the identical, inevitable questions, that yes: Britain is indeed very special to us. It gets tedious to repeat, because to me it's so blindingly obvious - of COURSE the relationship between Britain and America is close, important, cordial and thriving. How could it be otherwise? In a multilateral world where the adversarial conflict of superpowers from the Cold War is being by a world led by America but anchered with new vital powers across Europe, Asia and South America - where the Arab Apring has created a moment of opportunity for democracies in North Africa - our relationship with our most trusted ally are bound to be more important than ever. The fact is that, yes, America has other European allies such as France and German. And, yes, the Obama administration is reevaluating its foreign policy to reflect the strategic importance of Asia and the Pacific - which may mean that Europe itself becomes less strategically important.

But America is no longer (if we ever were) in a position to impose its will on the world as a medapower - we need our allies more than ever before, and Britain is first among equals. It is tightly bound to America by culture, history, economic investment, trade, immigration, and shared values and interests.

Frankly, it shouldn't really require the degree of reassurance that the British media seems to demand but for the record, one more time: yes, your friendship is extremely important to us.

Other videos from the day's events, not to be missed -

While Barack was recalibrating the global power dynamic, Michelle was dishing with a group of London schools girls about how she fell for him in the first place (because, she tells us, he loved his mother and he wasn't impressed with himself).



And here she is giving the girls a pep talk and making a hard sell for the importance of an education:



And finally, here's Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron giving a joint press conference earlier today.

Obama and Cameron are About to Give a Joint Press Conference

You can watch it here, live:

Update - now that the press conference is over, live video stream went dead. Here's a short video from the press conference. I'll look for more later.

The Obamas as Role Models and Inspirations

You can see me on tonight's edition of BBC London news chatting about how Barack and Michelle can serve as inspiration to young people. I'm there alongside Tim Campbell, an inspirational entrepreneur and former winner if the UK version of The Apprentice (nice guy). My bit starts about 20 minutes and 35 seconds in.

Again, that link is here.

I can't really stand watching myself - and I know if my Mom were watching she'd notice how desperately I am in need of makeup. Sorry Mom!

The Obamas in the UK: Let's go to the video tape...

Thought you might enjoy seeing the story of the Obama's UK visit so far played out in the various videos.

Here's the moment the President and First Lady arrived on Air Force One from Ireland - a day ahead of schedule, out of concern over the Icelandic volcano eruption.



Sadly, one of the first things he had to do today was to address the terrible suffering caused by the recent storms in Missouri and the Midwest.



After which, they met with the Queen and observed the Queen's guardsmen on parade.



Here he is teaming up with Prime Minister David Cameron to play ping pong against some students from a South London school.



David Cameron seems to be letting the side down here, I have to say... Bless him, he seems a bit nervous whereas the President is cool, calm and collected. I imagine he'll be more relaxed at tomorrow's press conference - no doubt the sporting element of any photo op is stressful.

More videos to follow tomorrow - I'm especially excited to see the President's speech to the joint houses of Parliament. I can't remember a US President being invited to address a joint session of Parliament in the time I've been here. Although, speech guru Max Atkinson has pointed me to Ronald Reagan's 1982 speech to Parliament as a great moment in Presidential speechmaking.

Let's see what Barack makes of the opportunity.

Why is the President in Europe, anyway?

Obama spoke today to a seething crowd of over 25,000 enthusiastic Irish people in Dublin. You can watch the full, fiesty and funny speech here. It's a lovely speech, but I don't think I'm doing it a terrible disservice if I summarise it thus: "The history of America has been the history of our Irish immigrants. We totally heart the Irish."

And we do!

Now, as Barack and Michelle's 2011 European tour gets under way, you may be asking (as Danish and French TV have already asked me on camera) why are they coming?

Fortunately, senior members of the White House foreign policy team have done a helpful on the record briefing a few days ago to set the scene - having reviewed the transcript on the tube today, I can now tell you that the trip comprises visits to 4 countries: Ireland, the United Kingdom, France (where the President will participate in the G8 meeting in the town of Deauville) and finally Poland.

Touching on the underpinning meaning of the trip, one official described it by returning to the President's campaign promises:

He as a candidate made a strong commitment to revitalizing our alliances, as Ben said, and to repairing America’s leadership and moral standing in the world.  And this trip very much underscores the extent to which he has achieved that with our closest allies and partners in Europe.

She went on to say that there are essentially 3 key themes or purposes underpinning the trip. In summary, these are:

• Highlight America's ongoing commitment to Europe. Ireland, the UK, and continental Europe remain American's most lasting, reliable and important allies. Amongst other things, some of the ceremonial aspects of the trip - like today's public address in Dublin and the pomp and circumstance associated with the UK state visit - serve to reaffirm that friendship. In short, sometimes you just have to come and spend time with your friends. 
• The second theme is to work on the European institutions which form the more formal aspects of the American-European alliance. Most notable in this is NATO, and the effort to bring the NATO project up to date with the modern world. Similarly, continuing to build the relationship with the European Union as it too continues to change and grow. This will be most important, perhaps in the Polish leg of the trip.
• And finally, our joint activity in working together WITH Europe to advocate for western values on the world stage. This will be especially critical in light of the ongoing joint actions in Libya and Afghanistan, and as we strategise together about the an appropriate response to other international crisis as the Arab Spring and Israeli-Palestinian situations continue to await resolution. 

So there will be some stuff to talk about. I'm just glad Barack managed to get in a pint right at the start.

Barack and Michelle Do London - the story so far

As mentioned before, Barack and Michelle are due in London for a visit the end of this month. I've done a bit of digging around to find out what we know so far about that visit, and thought I should give you a quick update.

Bear in mind, though that:

1) For obvious reasons of security, the President's schedule - especially for a foreign visit - is typically not released much ahead of time. And...
2) Although Democrats Abroad (which you should all join, if you are US citizens living abroad) is the official party organisation of the US Democratic Party, when the President travels abroad on official business he is - rightly - severely restricted in the his ability to any Party political activity. Which means is surpassingly unlikely that he will be able to do anything "with us". I'm sure he cries himself to sleep every night over that.

So... President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will be visiting the UK on May 24-26. The visit will be an official state visit, and they will be staying in... what for it... Buckinham Palace, as a guest of the Queen.

I KNOW! I'd love to get that invite, if only so I could sneak around after the Secret Service goes to bed and poke through the linen cupboards.

Anyway, the US Embassy of London has a helpful page giving the details announced so far (not many), details of the Obama's last visit here in 2009 and some interesting videos on life in the travelling press corps. It looks like they have set up this page to be updated as more info is released, so it's worth bookmarking it now:

http://london.usembassy.gov/obamavisit.html

Prince Charles, the Heir to the throne here and - of more interest of late - father to the world's most famous bridegroom - met recently with the President in the White House where the appear to have exchanged pleasantries in the longstanding tradition of content free Head of State (or heir to Head of State) interactions over the years.

The President also congratulated the Prince on the wedding of his son, Prince William, to Catherine Middleton and extended his best wishes to the newlywed couple. The President looks forward to visiting the United Kingdom at the invitation of Her Majesty the Queen during his State visit later this month.

Slightly more interesting, perhaps is to speculate what Her Majesty the Queen's feelings might be about the impending Presidential visit - she and Michelle Obama appear to have forged something unusually like a real bond of affection on the First Lady's last visit here. Bearing in mind that Queen Elizabeth's remarkable longevity is often attributed to her extreme skill at projecting neutrality - she was unusually non-neutral in her team's comment on the supposed breach of protocol when there was physical contact (gasp!) between the two women.

"This was a mutual and spontaneous display of affection and appreciation between the queen and Michelle Obama," a palace spokeswoman said.

 Oo er! Ahem.

Undoubtedly, President Obama will meet during his visit with the UK Prime Minster - Conservative Leader David Cameron.

When they do, I wonder if Barack will raise the obvious point that the British economy is actually on the point of shrinking, with GDP in decline, at a time with the US economy appears haltingly to be carry on down the road to recovery.

Of course, the British Government has embarked on a program of strenuous cuts to government spending, whereas the US government has attempted to avoid such draconian measures. I'd love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation... Hmmm...

Whatever happens, I am already steeling myself for the inevitable British press hand wringing about whether the US President REALLY REALLY likes us or just SORT OF KIND OF likes us. Is our special relationship REALLY, truly special, or just kinda sort of special?

There will undoutedly be extensive media coverage of any gift that the President might chose to bring for the PM and the Royal Family, and it will be digested endlessly for a significance that it almost certainly does not have.

I therefore would like to take this opportunitiy to go out on a limb and make a flagrant prediction - the UK and the USA will remain strong and vital allies after this trip, no matter what else happens on it.

Obama Coming to London

I do feel obliged to note that President Obama is coming to London on a State Visit this Spring. He and Michelle be holidaying with the Queen (like you do) May 24-26th, when no doubt the world's press will be looking for a repeat of the "mutual and spontaneous" touching between Michelle and Queen Elizabeth that caused such a tizzy last time around.

Stories from my life: last Thursday when the visit was announced the woman who handles press relations for Democrats Abroad called me in a panic to ask if I was free to go on BBC news to talk about the visit. Which at that point I had not yet heard about. I said I was happy to go on and talk, but really: "what is there to say? Obama's coming! Yay! We like Obama. We like it when he comes here. Go Barack! Go Michelle!"

Not the most insightful reporting the BBC's ever done, you know?

About half an hour later the BBC producer called me back to say that on reflection they decided to cover the Bahrain protests in more detail instead. I said I thought that was good news judgement on their part.

But just between us - Yay!

Marc Ambinder on Obama's European Visit

Well worth a read:

The press has a pretty good idea of Barack Obama's overseas schedule, although we've been asked to keep the details private for the moment and we don't know when he's going to Iraq and Afghanistan. Right now, swarms of Democratic advance folks are in Europe or traveling there, and the pressure on them to produce flawless events will be acute.

Obama's trip to Europe will be a huge event...maybe as big as his convention, maybe as big as a debate. Sheer curiosity will translate into enormous crowds, even as most of Obama's events will be small and pooled. The European press will go ga-ga, uncritically. If Obama does speak at the Brandenburg gate -- and it's unclear whether he will at this point -- you could envision a crowd of more than 200,000 watching and cheering him.

A few years ago, it might not have been the best political move for a candidate to be seen as receiving the adulation of world... especially France and Germany. Not today: given how important it is to many independents and Republicans and Democrats that America's standing in the world is restored, Obama could well benefit domestically from a raucous reception overseas.

There are potential drawbacks: gaffes will be magnified through the lens of a voracious, excited press corps. His trip has to be flawless, message-wise, tone-wise and in its execution. If Obama appears presumptuous and arrogant and not humble, there's a good bet that we'll see that reflected in the coverage back home. Likewise if any European (or Israeli) leader lectures him about unilateral diplomacy with Iran.
At least until he sits down with Gen. Petraeus ... will he speak truth to power? -- the benefits surely outweigh the risks....

EXTRA EXTRA: Obama's London Visit - Nothing Known!

This is just to tell the dozens of you who have written to me or called about Obama's planned visit to London what I know about it.

Nothing.

Date: Don't know. The Times is reporting that he will be here on July 18th, but other media outlets are reporting different dates, and the campaign has made no announcements.

Public Meetings: Don't know. As I understand it the main purpose of the trip is to meet with Government officials - whether he will meet with supporters while he's here is not currently known. My understanding (although not official) is that he will NOT be doing any fundraising on his trip.

Duration of Trip: Don't know. Although my sense is that it will be QUICK - a whirlwind tour to meet with major allies.

What do I know? That thousands, probably hundreds of thousands of Americans here in London support him enthusiastically, that he is overwhelmingly popular amongst the British population as well.

He may not be able to meet with us in person while he's here - but in a sense that doesn't really matter, because we already know him. We know this is the most global, thoughtful, disciplined, diplomatic and inspirational candidate that America has offered us for a long time.

Bon voyage, Barack!

Barack Obama to Visit Europe and Middle East

This is just to let you know - in case you're one of the 2 or three people who haven't already heard and called me excitedly to ask me about it! - that Barack Obama has announced he will be making a trip overseas to Europe and the Middle East, including France, Germany and (hurray!) the UK.

The dates have not been announced, nor have the specific locations, although rumors are certainly flying through the press. For the time being, all I know for sure is that he's coming at some point later this Summer. Different publications have announced different dates and itineraries for his visit - proof enough I think that no one really knows anything for sure at this point!

As soon as anything is confirmed I will post it here, but for now I'd urge you not to take too seriously any specific information you hear - when it's real it will be announced by the campaign.

In the meantime, if you want to show Barack how excited you are that he will be coming to our "green and pleasant land" there are a few ways you can do just that:

• Register on the website: so he can see how many US Expats there are here who are excited about him.
• Donate: so he knows we've got his back.
• Request your ballot: so you're all set for November!