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Apologies for overstating the extent of Egyptian President Mubarak's time in office - I suppose I could claim he is aiming for 38, but that would be cheap.

The reach of my interview with President Obama - not in hotel rooms but in the real living rooms of real people - was as colossal as we promised the White House.

It went from to , via .

(Interestingly, the first two of those websites can be described as conservative.)

My question (actually the question of a colleague but it is a good one) is this: will this internationalist rationalist president learn this week that much of the outside world is not on board for a quiet sensible chat about what makes sense and what does not.

And an observation after meeting him: he should ditch the search for a church and become a Quaker. Talking to him about family matters (type one diabetes of course) he was sympathetic and engaged and plain-spoken without at any stage being the slightest bit sentimental or gushing.

He reminded me of my mother's friends at home in Bath in the UK - direct and serious.

At some stage he is going to have to decide as well whether or not he believes in American exceptionalism.

I do: not in the sense of superiority but in the sense of qualitative uniqueness. Does he? ( - don't answer!)

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