AS THE first family flew in for its annual summer break in Martha's Vineyard, all seemed as normal: the warm embraces for celebrity friends, the practised small-talk for the waiting crowd.
At the centre of it all was Kaler, with his weathered face and emphatic nose, allowing a certain degree of mayhem, but controlling any insubordination (the dancer who tried to remind him of his blocking, for example) with the practised flick of a drily delivered line.
Of course, everyone is reading from an autocue, a tricky experience even for the most practised.
When engineering a smear, the practised professional knows that detail is strictly for nerds and the inside pages.
He's prodding it with the practised hand of someone who has worked with clothes for more than 25 years.
It's all in the momentary impression, the practised eye.
The practised jokes and witty one-liners crash and burn.
He turns on the dishwasher with the practised flourish of a matador.
Mr Dinh, by contrast, appeared every inch the practised, relaxed lawyer.
