As Barack Obama visited Sweden yesterday the Swedish media reported more of what he ate than anything of political importance. This morning, as I was reading Graham Greene's "The Heart Of The Matter", I thought of Obama as I read the following paragraph:

The boy grinned - a gash of white in the smooth grey elephant hide of his face: he had a look of sleek intelligence. Intelligence, to Wilson, was more valuable than honesty. Honesty was a double-edged weapon, but intelligence looked after number one. Intelligence realized that a Syrian might one day go home to his own land, but the English stayed. Intelligence knew that it was a good thing to work for Government, whatever the Government.