A good way of judging how Barack Obama views a diplomatic relationship is to look at who he has sent there as ambassador. By that measure, the sinecures in the UK and Japan, which went to Lou Susman, the Chicago investment banker, and John Roos, the Silicon Valley lawyer, are treated as rewards for election fund-raising rather than investments in a long-term relationship.

China and India, on the other hand, which respectively got Jon Huntsman, the Republican governor of Utah, and Tim Roemer, the former Democratic congressman, were seen as too important to mess with. Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, should bear this in mind as he prepares for his meeting this morning with Mr Obama.

As can sometimes be the case with India, New Delhi has recently taken offense from the Obama administration where none was intended. Keen to draw a line under the militarised idealism that characterised George W. Bush's tenure in the White House, Mr Obama may have over-corrected in some respects.