Coming together

In the battle to get their respective economies back on track, for example, whereas the Prime Minister believes that cutting public expenditure is the quickest and most realistic road to recovery, the US President has chosen to spend his way out of recession.

Indeed, while Mr Cameron is trying to bring about his dream

of a "big society", in which as much to power as possible is devolved to citizens, charities and non-governmental organisations, Mr Obama is busily engaged in boosting US government power as never before. With a centrally run healthcare programme and a redistributive tax system, the President seems determined to make as many Americans as possible dependent on the federal state.

Add to these fundamental philosophical differences the nasty stumbling-blocks of BP's role in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and the continuing outrage in America over the release of the convicted Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, and the omens for the first meeting between President and Prime Minister were hardly good.

Yet the fact that Mr Cameron clearly shares Mr Obama's anger on the latter issue, combined with his emollient attitude over BP, and the fact that these are two young, relatively fresh world leaders who are both intent on changing their respective nations, seems to have created a strong personal rapport in stark contrast to the awkward nature of Gordon Brown's meetings with Mr Obama.

The relationship between London and Washington may no longer be special, particularly in the eyes of Mr Obama who has never made any pretence of being an Anglophile, but it can still be an important one. Indeed, with the two nations fighting side by side in Afghanistan, it has to be. And all the indications from their first meeting are that both Mr Cameron and Mr Obama realise this.