Mr Obama's team believe that if they can't have the natural wild magic of 2008, some clever stage craft and behind the scenes mechanics will still synthetically reproduce that winning wizardry in 2012.

BBC: A targeted message from Obama 2012

Anyone brave enough to delve into its spells may learn how to use magic to manufacture fake gold, calm a wild horse or ripen a melon.

BBC: The Channel Islands�� surviving lore