After a long day, Barack Obama sat down last night to a banquet of Australian lamb and fish - and had a crack at talking Strine. He said he and Julia Gillard had enjoyed a ''chin wag'' and noted that the two countries had faced their ''share of sticky wickets''.
''We can say with confidence and with pride, the alliance between the United States and Australia is deeper and stronger than it has ever been - spot on, crackerjack, in top nick,'' he said.
''There are no better friends than the Unites States and Australia.''
President Obama joked he wasn't sure what day it was, after travelling across the time zone from Hawaii. ''I know I am not the first guy from Chicago to come to these parts,'' he said. ''A century ago, Walter Burley Griffin came here with a vision for this city. He said, 'I have planned a city that is not like any other in the world'. Tonight I want to thank all of you and the people of Australia for the hospitality that is unlike any other in the world.''
Although media were excluded during the meal, First Lady Michelle Obama hoped her husband dug in.
We know that because in Hawaii she asked Australia's First Bloke, Tim Mathieson, if he could make sure her husband had a good feed while in Australia, because she is worried he works so hard he forgets to eat.
That story was related to the hand-picked crowd in the Great Hall at Parliament House by Julia Gillard.
''So we've responded to her request by making sure you eat a hearty dinner and that there are several hundred witnesses,'' she told guests.
Before the speeches, guests were offered an entree of lamb with macadamia and thyme crust, served with avocado cream quenelle, blood orange segments and herb salad.
It was followed by a main course of pan-fried jewfish with seared prawn mousse, crushed kipfler potato and saffron cream reduction. Wines offered include Voyager Estate sauvignon blanc semillon 2011 from Western Australia's Margaret River and Hollick cabernet sauvignon 2009 from South Australia's Coonawarra region. Dessert was a wattleseed and passionfruit pavlova roulade with fresh raspberries.
In her speech of welcome, Ms Gillard joked that it was good to see Mr Obama again ''after so long''.
''It's been what, two days?'' she said.
She praised the President as embodying the American dream of opportunity. ''You come as a person for whom many Australians feel great personal warmth. not just for the substance of your leadership abroad and at home but for the style of modern leadership you display as well. ''Australians, not given to overstatement, see you leading a great nation amid all the passions of politics in a democracy and we see in you a combination of clear vision and a deep calm.''
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said Australians took pride in Mr Obama's election. ''It showed that America could live up to its dream and Americans were capable of judging people by the content of their characters rather than the colour of their skin.''
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