BARACK IN BRITAIN – AT 9:30 P.M. ET:  Mr. Obama is in London.  The British have made preparations, and they have included the assigning of a codename to the American president:

More than one person has wanted to call Barack Obama a 'smart alec', and now British police will get the chance to do so without getting reprimanded.

That's because Scotland Yard has tapped the codename 'Chalaque' to refer to the U.S. president for security reasons during his upcoming state visit to the United Kingdom May 24-26.

Indarjit Singh, a Punjabi speaker in the UK who is director of the Network of Sikh Organisations, told the Sunday Times the word 'is sometimes used when we want to denigrate someone who we think is too clever for their own good'.

Yeah, I can see that.  Then there's this:

The president and the orchestra at Buckingham Palace this evening were a bit out of synch.

When the president toasted the Queen the orchestra misunderstood a pause and what seemed to be a cue from the president for “God Save the Queen” to begin playing.

“Ladies and gentlemen please stand with me and raise your glasses as I propose a toast,” the president said, putting down his note cards and grabbing his glass. “To her majesty the Queen.”

The president paused, the guests stood, and the orchestra prepared to play.

But the president wasn’t done speaking.

“The vitality –“ the president said before the orchestra began.

Then the familiar tune – you might know it better as “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” – started up.

The president kept going: “ -- of the special relationship between our peoples and for the words of Shakespeare to this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,” the president said as the awkward moment played out.

The Queen looked ahead as the UK anthem played.

“To the Queen,” the president finally said.

He lifted his glass to her, she smiled a bit uncomfortably.

But because the song was playing, no one drank from his or her glass, including the president, who put his glass down on the table.

Then once the song was over, everyone raised a glass.

COMMENT:  One of the reasons for the president's trip is to repair a relationship with Britain that has been strained since Mr. Obama took office.  His coldness to Britain, and to other American allies, has been one of the most disturbing aspect of Obama's presidency.  After all, he just got finished insulting the Israeli prime minister, snubbed the French president on a visit to Normandy, spent, I think, a couple of hours in Canada, our largest trading partner...but bowed down to a Saudi king.

Maybe things will go better after the toast.  There is work to be done and trust to be rebuilt.

May 24, 2011