I'm no fan of US President George W Bush. As readers of this blog and other things I've published will have realised, I believe that the man has been bad for the USA. His policies in the Middle East have caused more people to die than in the September 11 Attacks and he has ensured that generations of people to come with loath and vow to destroy a nation that has done so much good for human history. As for trade, his claims to have promoted free-trade are false. Under his administration he has bashed China for manipulating the currency to have an unfair trade advantage (yeah right!) and jacked-up tariffs in order to protect old industries that are dying off.

Having said all of that, the highlight of my day was walking along North Bridge Rd and watching his motorcade go by. Traffic had stopped and then lo and behold 5 huge Cadillacs drove by and one of them had the US Presidential Flag. O Mi God, I saw the President of the US of A drive by. Now, this really is something special - US President really is THE PRESIDENT and watching his car speed by is quite something special! - It's a pity that windows were tinted - not like the time Tara and I saw the Queen wave at people in Leichester Square - but still - it was something special to see the US Presidential flag and symbol so close to you.

So what does it say about me? I am, at the end of the day a mere mortal who is impressed with power, prestige and the symbolism of the office. Somehow the mystique of offices like Royalty, President, PM, Minister, Ambassador etc etc have a way of brining out the desire for mankind to believe in something sacred and to revere something. It's like - WOW, I saw the Queen of England or I saw the President of the USA ..........I mean, these are not people that you see everyday!

Life is currently quiet - quiet before the storm. Arup Gupta comes into town on Tuesday, Supriyo Sircar, Polaris's VP is a little tense but I've already got him onto Bloomberg TV and now I just need to try for CNBC or BBC to ice the cake for Polaris. I actually life working with the foreign media - its more challenging - less inbred and editorial and advertising are really separate entities. They're also mainly business journalist - more serious, less into the small talk than the guys in the lifestyle section.