Instead he was apparently tuned to a two hour long HBO documentary about how he stormed to electoral triumph this time last year.
I was watching it too – so was everyone else in the C4 Washington bureau.
We were all enjoying reminiscing about the campaign and our small part in it. Even if we didn’t learn much that we didn’t know at the time. There were very few revealing moments.
We never saw the Obama facade crack.
Either this was the most disciplined, best run and resolutely self confident political campaign in history or this was the best controlled behind the scenes access in history.
But there was one glimmer of revelation – right at the end.
Soon after Obama was declared the winner but before he’d made his acceptance speech in Grant Park in Chicago a junior aide took a call on his cell phone.
We heard him brushing off the caller saying “The President Elect is keen to talk to the Prime Minister too – but he’s a bit busy right now”.