Barack's in town

Today marks the beginning of President Obama's state visit to the UK - only the third such visit made by an American President in the last century, although the Queen has notched up an impressive 101 state visitors during her reign.

Obama has already had a very successful tour of Ireland, where he has drunk Guiness in his ancestors' home of Moneygall (and got his car stuck on a ramp). Americana this Sunday had a very interesting report on why Presidents (and Americans in general) are so keen to celebrate their Irish ancestry, and it is well worth listening to. You can also click on this map to see how other Presidents, including Reagan, Bush and, of course, Kennedy have acknowledged their Irish roots.

There will be much talk during the UK visit about the "Special Relationship" between the US and the UK. Obama and Cameron have published an article in the Times this morning explaining that the relationship remains "essential". Not everyone would agree, and this article suggests that Obama has deliberately moved away from emphasizing the UK as a key ally in order to promote alliances elsewhere.

Here is some more information about what exactly state visits are for, and here is some footage of some previous presidential visits.

PS: Here is a super-detailed Daily Mail graphic of the Presidential Car - known as the Beast! Click on it to enlarge the picture and ">click here for further info and videos.



PPS: Here are further articles on the "Special Relationship" from the New York Times and Washington Post.

When Cameron meets Obama...

Prime Minister David Cameron is to meet with President Obama today in Washington. Difficult items on the agenda - Afghanistan, BP and the economy. What have previous relationships between prime ministers and presidents been like and what is the nature of the special relationship? These will be the questions being asked by the media over the next few days and the BBC have created a short clip of video on the history of some of those relationships. The Telegraph also discussed the likelihood of Obama and Cameron getting on last year. However, the trip, and the history of the relationship, is due to be overshadowed by the ongoing concern over the release of Lockerbie bomber Al-Megrahi to Libya and what that had to do with BP. Cameron has now bowed to pressure to meet with four US senators to answer questions about the controversy. The Guardian discusses the issue.