Bittersweet moment for gushing diplomats

It was a poignant moment for British diplomats, as they listened to Hillary Clinton sing the praises of her "friend" David Miliband.

The two top diplomats gushed over each other, with Mr Miliband declaring he was "delighted" to be meet with Mrs Clinton exactly three months after Mr Obama was elected, two weeks after his inauguration and one full day after Mrs Clinton was formally sworn in. Whew. Their talks were "detailed, substantive and friendly", Mr Miliband recounted.

But was there a hint of regret that Hillary wasn't in the White House? As far as the Foreign Office is concerned, Barack Obama, is an inspiring but essentially blank sheet of paper. A pre-election confidential assessment by Britain's Ambassador Sir Nigel Sheinwald described deep anxieties: Mr Obama was a fence sitter given to "assiduously balancing pros and cons", Sir Nigel wrote, and he "does betray a highly educated and upper middle-class mindset".

But it was Mr Obama's desire for face-to-face talks with the mullahs in Tehran that really worried London. Back then, Mrs Clinton declared that she would "annihilate" Iran if it so much as lifted a nuclear finger towards Israel. For her new role in the Obama era she will have to whisper such views in Mr Miliband's ear in future.