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| Diary: Barack Obama's world tour | Diary: Barack Obama's world tour |
| (1 day later) | |
| The BBC's James Coomarasamy is following Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential candidate conducts a tour of US allies around the globe. | The BBC's James Coomarasamy is following Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential candidate conducts a tour of US allies around the globe. |
| Here, our correspondent gives his day-by-day account of the progress of the tour. | Here, our correspondent gives his day-by-day account of the progress of the tour. |
| 22 JULY: AMMAN, JORDAN | |
| Barack Obama arrived, looking much like any other tourist visiting Amman's historic citadel, his jacket slung casually over his shoulder, his eyes sweeping over the ancient Roman ruins, before moving to take in the panorama of old Amman. | |
| And then - under the watchful eye of his secret service detail - it was down to business. | |
| Jacket on. Water swigged down. Talking points out. | |
| He was not alone. | |
| The senators who had been with him in Iraq and Afghanistan - Democrat Jack Reed and Republican Chuck Hagel - were the brief warm-up acts, before the Man Hoping To Be President gave his assessment of the situation there. | |
| He spoke and took questions for about 45 minutes, justifying his continued embrace of a timetable for US troop withdrawal from Iraq, despite the attempts of the top US commander, General David Petraeus, to change his mind. | |
| He had listened to the general's advice, considered it, but had taken his own decision. | |
| Mr Obama chose a different backdrop from Mr McCain for his press event | |
| Even if it is not actually his to take just yet. | |
| And may never be. | |
| Obama attempted at one point to include Chuck Hagel in the question and answer session - but he was out of luck. | |
| The senator - an anti-war Nebraska Republican - has been spoken of as a possible wild-card running-mate, but he clearly felt as though he had done his part. | |
| When asked whether he wanted to chip in, he shook his head. | |
| "It's your show" he said, reinforcing the message that Obama was trying to convey. | |
| Earlier this year, Republican candidate John McCain had graced the very same stage. | |
| He, too, had just arrived from a congressional trip to Iraq, when he spoke at the Amman citadel. | |
| If you look at the photos from that March day you will see McCain against a backdrop of Roman pillars - an image which speaks of the past, of history. | |
| The Obama team - ever keen to draw the distinction between their younger candidate and his opponent - shifted the cameras around, so that Mr Obama's first substantive appearance on the world stage was filmed against the Achrafiyeh Hills neighbourhood. | |
| John McCain's comments in March were noted for one thing: not for the first time, he got his Sunnis and Shias mixed up. | |
| His friend Senator Joe Lieberman had to put him straight with a whispered prompt. | |
| No one corrected Barack Obama when he said that Israel would always be a friend of Israel. | |
| He had meant to say the United States, of course. | |
| It was a slip, rather than a gaffe, perhaps. | |
| But an unfortunate one, since the Senator is viewed with suspicion in some Jewish circles. | |
| Not that I am looking for them, but I noticed another slip as well, one that was possibly more pertinent to the day's message. | |
| At one point, a reporter for the Fox News network, called Major Garrett, asked Obama a question. | |
| When he replied, he simply referred to him as "Garrett". | |
| So - one general's advice dismissed, one major's name erased. | |
| All in a day's work for a prospective commander-in-chief. | |
| 21 JULY: AMMAN, JORDAN | 21 JULY: AMMAN, JORDAN |
| I am not one of the boys on the bus. | I am not one of the boys on the bus. |
| I am not the boy in the bubble. | I am not the boy in the bubble. |
| No - although I am reporting on Senator Obama's trip to the Middle East and Europe - the BBC is not among the candidate's "travelling press", the group of reporters whose last-minute appearance, in a whirlwind of half-unfolded laptops and hastily-hoisted tripods, signals the imminent arrival of the star attraction at any event. | No - although I am reporting on Senator Obama's trip to the Middle East and Europe - the BBC is not among the candidate's "travelling press", the group of reporters whose last-minute appearance, in a whirlwind of half-unfolded laptops and hastily-hoisted tripods, signals the imminent arrival of the star attraction at any event. |
| But, then, I am in pretty good company. | But, then, I am in pretty good company. |
| An American colleague who gained one of the few coveted places, tells me that - apart from the French news agency, AFP - no other foreign reporters have made it into the inner sanctum. | An American colleague who gained one of the few coveted places, tells me that - apart from the French news agency, AFP - no other foreign reporters have made it into the inner sanctum. |
| Mr Obama travels to Amman, Jordan, after trips to Iraq and Afghanistan | Mr Obama travels to Amman, Jordan, after trips to Iraq and Afghanistan |
| To be honest, that is no great surprise. | To be honest, that is no great surprise. |
| The extra security concerns in the region, the presence of anchors from the three major US networks, the advance billing that led to far greater numbers of press requests than usual: all mitigate against satisfaction for all but the smallest number of journalists. | The extra security concerns in the region, the presence of anchors from the three major US networks, the advance billing that led to far greater numbers of press requests than usual: all mitigate against satisfaction for all but the smallest number of journalists. |
| But there is a suspicion that there is more than space and security at issue here; that the Obama campaign sees the foreign media - with its annoying habit of going off-message - as simply too risky to have close at hand, on a trip with plenty of its own inherent risks. | But there is a suspicion that there is more than space and security at issue here; that the Obama campaign sees the foreign media - with its annoying habit of going off-message - as simply too risky to have close at hand, on a trip with plenty of its own inherent risks. |
| The main risk being: how to make the candidate look worldly-wise and ready to lead, without appearing arrogant, to the watching American voter. | The main risk being: how to make the candidate look worldly-wise and ready to lead, without appearing arrogant, to the watching American voter. |
| I have arrived in Amman, Jordan, where the sweltering heat does not feel that different to the one I left behind in Washington DC, awaiting the senator's arrival from his war zone sojourn in Afghanistan and Iraq. | I have arrived in Amman, Jordan, where the sweltering heat does not feel that different to the one I left behind in Washington DC, awaiting the senator's arrival from his war zone sojourn in Afghanistan and Iraq. |
| My journey began with a warning. | My journey began with a warning. |
| Just as I was heading to my gate at Washington's National Airport, I noticed a shop featuring life-size cardboard cut-outs of Barack Obama and his Republican rival, John McCain. | Just as I was heading to my gate at Washington's National Airport, I noticed a shop featuring life-size cardboard cut-outs of Barack Obama and his Republican rival, John McCain. |
| Mr Obama's wore one of those familiar, languid smiles. | Mr Obama's wore one of those familiar, languid smiles. |
| McCain's on the other hand, had something resembling a frown on it. | McCain's on the other hand, had something resembling a frown on it. |
| Call it a reporter's paranoia, but his gaze seemed to follow me as I snaked my way through the security line. | Call it a reporter's paranoia, but his gaze seemed to follow me as I snaked my way through the security line. |
| The Arizona Senator has been known to quote the Beach Boys, but it was an old Simple Minds song that came to mind: "Don't you forget about me." | The Arizona Senator has been known to quote the Beach Boys, but it was an old Simple Minds song that came to mind: "Don't you forget about me." |