President Obama?s India trip may have been presaged by some electoral setbacks, domestically, but that hasn?t dimmed the preparations for his visit to India. For over a fortnight now, newspapers have given Obama space in their front pages; in fact, his visit is the reason embattled Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan got a reprieve from a sure-fire sacking. It seems the US president?s decision to make Mumbai his first port of call has had far reaching implications for India?s domestic politics, even before he has set foot here.

His packed itinerary reflects the broad point that the visit is expected to make. His stay at the Taj Mumbai, the symbol of the 26/11 terror attacks to his visit to Mani Bhavan Gandhi Museum as a homage to a man from whom Obama has borrowed much in terms of philosophy, are all geared to showcase his specific interests.

Obama?s address to a joint sitting of the Indian Parliament, has got more press than anything else. The Parliament has been spruced up for the affair, with arrangements for high tea being made ?in case there is any need?. Visits by US presidents arouse strong emotions in India, especially among the Left parties. When President George Bush visited, the crucial position of the Left in the UPA government ensured that he was denied an address to the joint sitting of Parliament. As one US newspaper reported it, he instead addressed the Indian media ?at the Delhi zoo? (a rather liberal licence to describe Humayun?s tomb).

Obama, of course, is the president talking of withdrawal from Afghanistan and, hence, the Left are much more suitably disposed towards him. And let?s face it, in the current scenario, nobody?s asking permission.

Jacqueline Kennedy had her moment in India boating in Kerala. There will always be a Carterpuri to remind us that Jimmy Carter ?was here?. Bill Clinton?s jig in Nyala village in Rajasthan captured the spirit of that visit. In 2010, when media coverage is regimented to the point where even spontaneity is choreographed, will Obama be able to create some magic? Here?s hoping ?he can?.