The Barack Obama European Tour

Sounding like an ageing supergroup doing one last tour to top up the pension funds rather than a credible politician undertaking vital diplomatic missions, Obama's doing a tour of Europe. No doubt this is entirely about important work and nothing to do with his re-election campaign. I know, I know, I'm joking - but the Barack Obama Re-Election Tour of Europe would have been too obvious even for this blatant attempt to look like a statesman with international credibility while the opposition party in your country haven't even got around to the serious mud-slinging that will inevitably happen before they choose their nominee for President next year.

Much like Nixon visiting China and the USSR in the run-up to the 1972 election, this is just the start of a campaign to convince enough voters in the US that Obama is a credible statesman who is also a safe pair of hands. And given the state of the Republican party at the moment, it's probably going to work.