President Obama and his wife arrive on an official state visit on Tuesday, which means they get to sleep over at Buckingham Palace -surely the ugliest royal residence in Europe? Queen Elizabeth has met all but one of the 11 Presidents that have been in office since she was crowned, LBJ being the missing link. I don't doubt the usual tripe about the 'Special Relationship' will be aired, examined, reinforced, debunked, whatever -who other than Burma and North Korea doesnt have a 'special relationship' with the USA?

The political agenda will probably be dominated by Afghanistan, and the Middle East, I just hope that Obama is going to announce major changes in the direction of US Foreign Policy. An exit strategy in Afghanistan that will not leave NATO or the USA with financial commitments to a state whose officials who treat the national treasury as their private bank accounts; a commitment to supporting the turn to democracy in the Middle East, although other than that I don't see what the USA can do, or indeed, what it should do. I was going to write a long spiel on this but changed my mind.

I don't agree with a lot of Obamam's policies, I tend to the view that he inherited such a complex mess, that his Presidency was always going to be burdened by the past; I still think that even with two terms his Presidency in policy outcomes will be seen as a disappointment.

However, he and his wife come across as positive people, and present a marked contrast to our current leadership. You don't need to live in the UK and see the parade of vacuous idiots elected to Parliament to grasp the differences; in Michelle Obama's case it's glaringly obvious -we just dont have women like that in UK politics, and if I may say so, not that many Black women with influence and charisma (unless some of the Brits on this board can suggest one).

The point is that it is a show, but I do hope behind the scenes some serious decisions about the future are made, because we can't go on as we are, pouring money into places like Pakistan and Afghanistan, and getting nothing much more than dead bodies in return.