By the time this essay is published, most people in the United States will be fast asleep. No doubt there will be exceptions: some journalists and campaign staffers will work through the night. Perhaps President Obama will sit in the darkness of his hotel suite with the radio and television switched off while he sips […]

[AMAZONPRODUCT=B000P5FH4Y] Last Saturday, PBS ran a documentary about the Mormons. Lasting in excess of 270 minutes, it detailed the history of the faith and its long struggle to fit in with the rest of America. One of the historians appearing on the programme remarked on how peculiar this epic may seem on the surface: after […]

[AMAZONPRODUCTS asin=”B005ZCSP9Q”] In my experience, every presidential election brings about at least some small blossoming of idealism. The campaigns begin in tiny hamlets in New Hampshire and Iowa; at this stage, the process is not usually saturated with money. Rather, the candidates are compelled to descend from their pedestals in state capitols or Washington and […]

[AMAZONPRODUCT=B007A3OZ9C] In December 2010, former President Bill Clinton and current President Barack Obama held a joint press conference at the White House. The topic was a proposed framework agreement intended to extend tax cuts and unemployment benefits. After about 10 minutes, President Obama had to leave so as not to be late for an appointment […]

I generally wake up before dawn to the sound of the News Briefing on BBC Radio 4. This morning, the dulcet tones of the presenter informed me that Mitt Romney had won the primaries in both Michigan and Arizona. As I took my vitamins in the darkness, my first thought was “good.” While Romney is […]

It has been over 3 months since I moved into my Yorkshire home. The boxes were put away long ago, the pictures have been hung up on the walls, my extensive collection of books and classical music are all on the shelves. When I return home in the evening, the hall light’s warm yellow glow […]

Finally, Bill did the right thing. He gave a speech which was unequivocally supportive of Barack: I breathed a sigh of relief. It was also gratifying that Bill managed to surpass his wife: while she said all the right words in her address on Tuesday, it was done in such a way that one couldn’t […]

The Democratic National Convention has kicked off in Denver, and apparently it’s gotten off to a brisk start. The reviews of the speeches by Michelle Obama, Senator Ted Kennedy and Nancy Pelosi suggest all have gone off without a hitch. No doubt, Michelle, Ted and Nancy breathed more easily once they got off the stage […]