Yahoo!7
May 25, 2011, 10:31 am
Tell us what you really think
It seems we've been given a rare insight into what the British really think of US President Barack Obama.
Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth attend a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace.
But it's the President's codename which is raising a few eyebrows back across the pond in America.
It seems British security forces spent the trip calling the most powerful man in the world 'Chalaque', which is a Punjabi word for smart-alec.
Scotland Yard has defended the choice of words, saying all code names are generated randomly by a computer.
But as some have pointed, just because a computer chooses the word, it doesn't mean Scotland Yard must stick with it.
The word is 'sometimes used when we want to denigrate someone who we think is too clever for their own good', a Punjabi speaking man told the Britain's Daily Mail.
The word should not be considered rude, but could be mildly offensive, another man told the paper.
The use of codenames is common practice for US Presidents, and they often change over time.
Obama was known to Secret Service officials as 'Renegade' during the 2008 Presidential campaign, while his wife was called 'Renaissance'.
It's not the first slightly embarrassing moment for the President while on tour.
Just days before, his heavily armoured limousine got stuck on a small bump in the road while thousands of onlookers watched on with amusement.
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OBAMA'S TOUR HITS A SPEED BUMP
Yahoo!7
May 24, 2011, 10:17 am
He may be struggling in the polls at home, but US President Barack Obama has received a rock star welcome on his tour of Ireland.
With over 36 million Americans of Irish descent living in the US, a tour of the Emerald Isle is almost a rite of passage for US Presidents.
And for President Obama, the tour has been a particular success.
The President has been shaking hands, kissing babies and drinking Guinness as Irish well-wishers cheer his every move.
And nowhere has the reception been more positive than the village of Moneygall, where the President boasts a family connection.
Obama can trace his ancestral roots on his mother's side to the tiny town, and the locals couldn't have been more proud as they welcomed their 'cousin' home.
Speaking to a crowd of thousands in Dublin, the President joked that he had come "home to find the apostrophe that we lost somewhere along the way".
But no matter how well the tour is planned and how much the locals love him, sometimes things just go wrong, as the President's official driver proved overnight.
While he was exiting the US Embassy on his way to a speech in Dublin, one of the limos got stuck on a ramp.
It's no wonder it got stuck. Its weight is estimated at eight tonnes. The windows are so thick, a fluorescent light is needed inside to see anything and parts of the body are covered in military grade armour.
See the unfortunate incident:
http://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/-/world/9503894/obamas-tour-hits-a-speed-bump/
Secret Service agents reportedly hid the car from public view while they freed the car's tyres.
Not long after, the President was forced to cut his Irish tour short in order to escape the looming ash cloud from Iceland's volcano, which is moving over Britain today.
It's unclear if the President's super-heavy, super-armoured limo nicknamed 'The Beast' has remained behind.
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