Society Archives

Saturday

6 Sep 2008

A warning shot across Gordon’s bow

In the last week there have been several stories about how Stephen Carter, the PM’s chief strategist, is to be demoted or moved; Brown can hardly bear to look at him any more according to one source. But Patrick Wintour’s piece in The Guardian today suggests that Carter isn’t planning on going quietly. Wintour reports that Carter has apparently also lost the confidence of Jeremy Heywood, the permanent secretary at Number Ten. Yet, Carter isn’t intending to resign. Friends of Carter tell Wintour that: “He is far more effective and intelligent than the people in No 10 briefing against him. He is also a very resilient guy and is not

Rory Sutherland

The Wiki Man | 6 September 2008

A friend of mine, a professor at an Ivy League university, specialises in research into transgenic mice, learning how DNA modifications affect intelligence and memory. A few years ago, after some genetic tinkering, he created a batch of mice of quite spectacular dimwittedness. They were useless in the maze, ditzily wandering about with no sense of spatial awareness and incapable of finding the cheese after repeated attempts. This wasn’t the only interesting thing about these mice. Every one of them had a most unusual pigmentation, at least for mice: they were blond. This was huge. ‘You’ve found the blond gene — phone the Sun!’ ‘Um, I was thinking more in

James Young

Competition | 6 September 2008

In Competition No 2560 you were invited to describe a visit to Glyndebourne or Glastonbury in the style of an author of your choice. But first a memo from Doctor Johnson re. his recent Competition 2558 (Harmless drudgery) in which he let through a contribution that confused a ‘roadie’ with a ‘groupie’. To the lady who drew his attention to the error, he apologises unreservedly and adds, as is his wont, an explanation for allowing the wrong definition: ‘Ignorance, madam, pure ignorance.’ Back to the current Comp: this was another big field and of a high standard, especially the Glastonbury offerings. Lots of entries were good enough for the winners’

Rod Liddle

What possessed McCain to take a punt on Palin?

Rod Liddle says that the appointment of an inexperienced, gun-toting formerbeauty queen as his running mate may well be John McCain’s undoing Ah, just when you pro-Republican monkeys were beginning to think that John McCain was looking a pretty good bet, he goes and chooses a backwoods polar-bear-strangling Britney Spears manqué as a running mate — a woman who appears to believe that the earth was created precisely 4,004 years ago and who, in earlier times, found the Republican Party inclined at far too shallow an angle to the right. A sort of Alaskan version of Pauline Hanson, except with a better embonpoint. These desolate wide open spaces full of

Friday

5 Sep 2008

Alex Massie

McCain and Churchill

In the comments to the previous post, Toby writes, astutely: As with Churchill, he [McCain] hankers after the Empire he knew in his youth. He feels uneasy about the falloff of his country from former greatness. But he is now closer to the Churchill of 1950 than 1940, and the American people are more in the mood the British electorate were in 1945. Dang, I wish I had thought to write that. It’s true that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan aren’t over, but one senses that the public has tired of them and wishes they were and that, as in 1945, there’s a thirst for a new beginning. Obama’s

Alex Massie

Cowgirl Sarah

Virginia Postrel recalls visiting the National Cowgirl Museum and seeing an aspect of American history that helps explain Sarah Palin’s appeal: The Cowgirl Museum showcased women of no-nonsense character, pioneer (and pioneering) achievement, physical daring, and unapologetic femininity. Full of inspiring role models, the museum presented a piece of feminist history that gets left out of the city-oriented accounts most of us learn… This all came back to me when I heard Sarah Palin’s convention speech and thought about how so many smart–but parochially “cosmopolitan”–miss the enormous appeal of her persona. She may have wrangled fish rather than cattle, but she shares the cowgirl tradition. I think this both smart

James Forsyth

Palin Polling

The new ABC poll, conducted yesterday so after Palin’s speech, is a mixed bag for the McCain campaign. On the one hand, less than half of voters—42 percent to be precise—think that Palin has the right experience to serve as president. On the other, Obama’s numbers on this aren’t much better; in a pre-convention ABC poll only 50 percent said that Obama had the experience he needed on this front, 47 percent thought he didn’t. It is strategically imperative for the McCain campaign to drive up Palin’s ready to be president numbers. Not only because considering McCain’s age and health issues these numbers could be a drag on the ticket

The Spectator

The week that was | 5 September 2008

Here are some of the posts made over the past week on Spectator.co.uk: Fraser Nelson reports for Americano from the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-Saint Paul. He gives his take on Sarah Palin’s speech here, and on John McCain’s speech here. Also on Americano, James Forsyth suggests that McCain has to sell himself as a reformer. Dominic Grieve gives his answers to CoffeeHousers’ questions. James Forsyth wonders whether the Brown-Miliband truce will hold until after conference, and claims that things just keep getting worse for Labour. Peter Hoskin reports on Charles Clarke’s latest outburst against Gordon Brown, and notes how the media have registered a vote of no confidence. Daniel Korski outlines

Peter Hoskin

An Olympic let-down?

A couple of days ago, I wrote that – given the massive costs attached to the 2012 Games – taxpayers will want to see that the Government’s promise to deliver a lasting “Olympics legacy” isn’t an empty one. Well, if a survey on the matter by Opinion Research is anything to go by, then there’s not much confidence on that front. A third of respondents think that the Olympics will deliver no significant, long-term benefits, and that the money should be spent on other public services. And only 12 percent of people believe the Olympics will come in on budget, or within ten percent of budget. The public mood is understandable

Sean Martin

Poverty of aspiration; not poverty of talent

One of the major educational challenges facing us today is ensuring talented pupils receive the same opportunity to excel. Today’s publication of a Warwick University study shows that low teacher expectations have meant Black Caribbean pupils are less likely to be entered for higher tier testing, apparently highlighting the “institutional racism” in schooling. This attitude ignores the real reason why disadvantaged pupils often don’t reach their educational potential: the poverty of aspiration and information in comprehensive schools. Research from the Sutton Trust has shown that many comprehensive pupils academic progression is marred by a lack of knowledge of various aspects of university entrance. They support their case with some devastating

James Forsyth

The Brownites really can’t play the expectations game

The Brown re-launch is falling flat because all the ideas in it were previewed over the summer, meaning that their announcement does little for Brown’s prospects. Indeed, in some cases it does positive harm as the actual policy is less bold than the one that was floated. Now, this has happened for a reason—the ideas were leaked to show Labour MPs tempted by Miliband’s so-called vision for the future that Brown still had some shots left in his locker. But this short-term manoeuvre has harmed Labour’s prospect of a revival in the medium term. It seems the same thing is going on with Brown’s conference speech. Ben Brogan blogs today

Peter Hoskin

Comments are working again

Just to say that the comments facility is now working again. I’ve been assured that any comments made overnight (when it wasn’t working) should still appear – although they may trickle through slowly throughout the day. If you think a comment you made may not have got through, feel free to e-mail me on phoskin @ spectator.co.uk, and I’ll see what can be done. Apologies, again, for the earlier problems.

James Forsyth

Couldn’t organise a plot in a parliamentary party

Iain Martin has a quite brilliant line in his column today on Charles Clarke and his plotting : “If this is an attempted coup, it is shaping up to be the most badly organised since Simon Mann looked at Equatorial Guinea on a map of Africa and thought: that looks worth a shot.” My sense is that Charles Clarke has, oddly, done Gordon Brown a favour. It is now so predictable when he criticises Brown that it infuriates Labourites rather than goading them into action. As Iain argues, Labour’s dithering—one respect in which it does follow its leader—is destroying its chances. The party needs to either get rid of Brown or

Fraser Nelson

McCain’s speech: the verdict

For his speech last night, John McCain had a walkway built into the floor – perhaps to remind him of the town hall settings he’s most comfortable with. He’s not a great platform speaker, and proved this yet again yesterday. He did not eclipse Palin. But the text was interesting, and here’s my take on some of it. “I don’t work for a party, I don’t work for a special interest, I work for you”. After accepting his party’s nomination McCain says he won’t work for them – and that’s the crux of his campaign. Not a third term, he says, but a fresh break. Reform is McCain’s theme and

The Spectator

Comments

Comments haven’t been working across the site since yesterday evening. We’ve got the techies working on it, so hopefully the problem will be fixed soon. Apologies to everyone who may have made a comment overnight, or who would like to submit one now. We can’t be sure, yet, whether we’ll be able to salvage the ones that didn’t get through. We’ll keep you up-to-date. Again, apologies.

Thursday

4 Sep 2008

Alex Massie

Hurricane Sarah

Andrew Sullivan concludes his live-blogging of Sarah Palin’s speech with an exasperated sigh: “Reality television has become our politics.” Perhaps. More likely, politics has been a reality TV show since before John Logie Baird invented the damn goggle box. Because, yes, you choose the candidate you like best or the one that has impressed you most after a long, painfully drawn out period of interrogation, speculation and hype. Just like on American Idol. That is the way it works. Talent matters, but it’s not enough without personality, authenticity, charm, something else… Of course Andrew’s so committed to Obama that it’s unlikely Palin could have done anything to convince him she’s

Alex Massie

British Newspapers: Best In the World, Guv

God bless the Daily Mail. How can you resist a story headlined: Are We All Going to Die Next Wednesday? Of course you remember the rule: all headlines written as questions invite – nay, have – the answer “No”. But, admit it, in this instance you might have a look and see what this imminent, cataclysmic threat is…

Alex Massie

Home is Where the Heartland Is

Somewhere, Mark Penn is having a terrible day. He must feel like leaning out his office window and screaming, “I told you so, you bloody fools! But would you listen? Would you? No, no you bloody well wouldn’t…” Remember the memo he passed around the Clinton campaign on March 19th 2007? You should, because I rather think the Republican party has. To recap, Penn noted that Obama’s campaign for the Democratic party’s nomination was supported by four factors: 1. Authenticity, 2. Left/Right appeal, 3. [Being] Black, 4. New and fresh. That was true then and it remains true today. But Penn also saw four weaknesses: 1. Lack of experience, 2.

James Forsyth

What McCain needs to do tonight

The Sarah Palin pick has given John McCain permission to say what he wants in policy terms tonight. The base is fired up and ready to go thank to both the media assault on Palin and her social and fiscal conservative credentials and even if McCain deviates from conservative orthodoxy they aren’t going to stay home in November. McCain should take this opportunity to present himself to the country at large as a bold reformer interested in what works not what is ideologically correct. Michael Gerson, Bush’s former speechwriters, observation that the test of McCain’s speech is if at the end of it voters can say “I have never heard

James Forsyth

The limits of going negative for Labour

Many people in the Westminster Village will tell you that Labour’s last best chance is to personally attack David Cameron. The theory is that if you can take down Cameron, the Tories will fold. But when you ask about what Labour should go negative on you receive pretty weak answers involving the Bullingdon, Eton or White’s. The, predictable, aim would be to paint Cameron as out of touch or a sexist. But neither of these attacks strikes me as likely to be effective. First, the out of touch line has been tried already and hasn’t hit home, just turning up the volume won’t make it effective. Also, the fact that