The economy is a mess, the world is teetering on the verge of the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression of 1929 and we’re arguing about who should be president. When are we going to get some sense?

President Barack Obama goes before Congress tonight to argue for his new plan to urgently create jobs for the millions of out-of-work Americans, a way forward that some opposition Republicans have rejected before hearing the details and members of the Democratic base view as too timid.

There were diplomatic smiles all round from Gordon Brown today, as he greeted world leaders who arrived one by one to thrash out a plan to inject confidence into the ailing global economy.