John Morris, 91 years of age, firm of handshake and purposeful of manner, ushers me into his Paris apartment and introduces me to a tall, handsome fellow who is standing at the back of the sitting room. It is a lifesize cardboard cut-out of Barack Obama, and the presidential candidate is smiling broadly. No wonder, with supporters like this. Morris proudly reveals that he had more than 100 guests in the other night, spreading the word and raising money for the Democratic cause. He is cautiously optimistic about Obama's prospects, noting dryly the apparently inverse relationship between his poll ratings and the health of the US stock market.

Morris has a further surprise in store. He shows me the press pass that he used to attend Obama's recent joint briefing with the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy. The pass is dated 1944. Did they let you in, I ask? He says it was easy, with a twinkle in his eye. Who would deny him?