THE trouble with asking us all to tighten our belts is that our leaders must not then throw money around themselves - or they look like prize hypocrites.

Take the much-seen picture of Michelle Obama and Samantha Cameron on that phlegm-coloured sofa at Number 10 last week.

That sparked off many papers to deconstruct the contents of Our Great And Glorious Leader's apartment, listing items such as Dualit toasters, iPads, and expensive coffee makers.

And that, in turn, led to some journalists poking about in how much public money has been spent doing it up so that the Camerons could remove the remnants of Gordon and Mrs Brown's taste.

Turns out, that figure was £683,000 of the taxpayer's money spent since last May.

The Conservatives say the Camerons made an undisclosed contribution to fixtures and fittings, the public cash went on matters such as electrics, plumbing, painting and decorating, and that the money was spent as part of a works programme begun by the last government - how long is that excuse going to be trotted out?

Strangely, the spending decisions of the last government don't seem to have been adhered to in other areas. I'm thinking NHS, education, those sorts of things, rather than Farrow and Ball heritage paints, but the principle here is the same.

They are the government, they could choose to say 'no, we'll put up with the flock wallpaper until times get better', as many of the rest of us are having to at the moment.

NONE of this would probably have got so much attention had it not been for the photocall and the lame barbeque picture stunt with the Obamas.

And the person who wrote the "President of the United Steaks" headline should make a shame sacrifice now to the god of sub-editors.

You can, however, just hear the Downing Street advisers' mental cogs whizzing, thinking of all that reflected Barack glory, how much the Old Etonian would look like the ordinary bloke down the road who doesn't trust the little wifey with all that burny stuff, she can stick to the salads.

Sorry, Dave, with Obama's Hollywood smile you just looked Hollyoaks.

YE Gods, who thought that was a good idea? I saw pictures this week of Boris Johnson behind the wheel of a new-design Routemaster bus. I'm worried enough about his impact on a bike....

AND finally...

HEARD the one about the old lady who called out firefighters to rescue an animal in distress in her hallway?

A Freedom of Information request revealed that firefighters were sent to a house in Aberystwyth in 2007, 400 yards away from the local fire station, calmed the lady down and removed the animal - a garden snail.