Barack Obama visits Iraq, as it gets a little harder to distinguish his foreign-policy views from his rivals'

SO FAR, so presidential. The spin doctors who organised Barack Obama's world tour must be content with the public-relations success achieved by their man to date. The Democratic candidate visited Afghanistan over the weekend. Then, on Monday July 21st, he appeared in Iraq. He has enjoyed the sort of high-level reception generally reserved for heads of state; the accompanying press coverage will have his PR advisers salivating. Later this week he will visit Germany's capital, Berlin, where he may draw the size of crowd usually reserved for rock stars. The Democratic campaign must be delighted, not least by the neglect of his Republican rival, John McCain.

Yet, beyond public relations and an effort to make Mr Obama look more convincing as a potential commander-in-chief, the more substantial foreign policy news seems to be coming, if rather quietly, from Mr Obama's rivals. Over Iran's efforts to develop a nuclear programme, for example, George Bush had suggested that talking to America's enemies would be tantamount to appeasement. In contrast Mr Obama has long espoused direct talks with Iran. Although he has waffled a bit, saying that he would make appropriate "preparations", his point has been that Iran should not be required to suspend its efforts to enrich uranium as a condition for holding talks. ...