Category Archives: Politics

So. It’s Bush v Kerry, and the battle lines have already been clearly drawn: flip-flopping Massachusetts liberal vs strong leader with moral clarity. And for all that Kerry might be leading in the polls at the moment, I agree with … Continue reading →

I spent a chunk of this afternoon at Bush in 30 Seconds, a website from the people who brought you moveon.org. The purpose of the website is to find a 30-second ad which can then be run in Bush’s State … Continue reading →

When I was growing up in London, I occasionally suffered a mild bout of cognitive disconnect when I heard words used for purposes which went slightly beyond my own ideas of what they referred to. For instance, when London Underground … Continue reading →

Read this. It’s an unexceptional, and unexceptionable, article by Stryker McGuire, the London bureau chief of Newsweek. The subject is anti-Americanism. It’s fading, he says: Bernard-Henri Levy recently won a debate in London arguing the proposition that ‘The American Empire … Continue reading →

In the end, the election wasn’t a farce. Everyone thought that Arnold Schwarzenegger would win with fewer votes than Grey Davis, and that didn’t happen. In fact, it looks as though he got an outright majority of the votes, despite … Continue reading →

Back in the olden days, American immigration protocols were little more than a punchline for the bien-pensant: the way that you always had to answer the question about whether you were, or ever had been, a member of the Communist … Continue reading →

Eagle-eyed William Saletan, at Slate, posted a very useful heads-up today about a key speech which Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards gave on Tuesday at Georgetown University. Saletan gives the Cliff’s Notes version, full of paradox and "audacity", and says … Continue reading →

When Texas governor George W Bush was running for president, we heard a lot about "compassionate conservatism," but rather less about what it actually meant. The one thing which did emerge from his handlers’ interference, however, was that Bush was … Continue reading →

When I’m not blogging, I spend quite a lot of time writing about Latin America. Latin Americans generally have political systems based on that of the USA: a powerful president with checks and balances provided by the legislature and the … Continue reading →

Sometimes, when New York gets too hectic, the best way to clear the mind is to go lie on the beach in Rio de Janeiro for a couple of weeks. Sometimes? More like always. It certainly worked for Nick Denton, … Continue reading →

The leader of the free world gave his second prime-time press conference today, and the world, or at least the US, was watching. For the best part of an hour, George W Bush basically ignored whatever questions were asked of … Continue reading →

After the build-up, the speech. And, against all my expectations, Bush played a blinder: he actually lived up to the hype. The awkward Bush of the Presidential campaign, with his bizarre pauses in the middle of sentences and omnipresent smirk, … Continue reading →

Fareed Zakaria, one of the best commentators on international affairs, has now written a very peculiar column in favour of a war in Iraq. He runs through all the reasons why it could be a disaster (Saddam torching oilfields, provocation … Continue reading →

It’s obviously the season for major speeches from the Bush administration. Last Thursday, Paul Wolfowitz gave a very hawkish address to the Council on Foreign Relations, and tomorrow George W Bush himself will give his State of the Union address, … Continue reading →

I went to the Council on Foreign Relations today, for a "policy address" (I guess that’s one notch up from a common-or-garden speech) by deputy defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz. It was obviously part of a concerted effort by the White … Continue reading →

I’ve avoided blogging these midterm elections because (a) I’m not nearly as much of a US political junkie as thousands of other webloggers out there; and (b) I was just too depressed at the result. But this is my website, … Continue reading →

Mickey Kaus says that "a 50-50 tie may be the new equilibrium state of American politics", and helpfully provides links to other people who have said the same thing in the past. It stands to reason that in a two-party … Continue reading →

Christopher Hitchens has a new book out, on George Orwell. Orwell is one of those figures who tends to mean whatever you want him to mean: he’s been adopted by political partisans (and, indeed, non-partisans) from across the spectrum, each … Continue reading →

I was no great supporter of Michael Bloomberg’s mayoral bid. His cookie-cutter style of management (all news stories have the same structure, all bureaus have the same fishtank) might work with people who are self-selected for the organisation, but couldn’t … Continue reading →

If you have a little time to spare, I would highly recommend reading Power and Weakness, Robert Kagan’s essay about "why, on major strategic and international questions today, Americans are from Mars and Europeans are from Venus". My friend Matthew … Continue reading →

Pop along to the Federal Communication Commission’s website, and buried in the "Headlines" you’ll find something saying "Verizon Wireless’ Petition for Partial Forbearance from the Commercial Mobile Radio Services Number Portability Obligation and Telephone Number Portability." Click on one of … Continue reading →