Gordon Brown will be pleased by how his first press conference with George W. Bush went. There were no disasters even if Bush’s ragging of the press and boast that Brown is a ‘humorous Scot’ will rather grate on British ears. While on the plus side, Bush affirmed that Britain is America’s most important bilateral relationship.
Ken Pollack and Mike O’Hanlon—neither of whom could be called a neo-conservative, a Bush supporter, or a Republican—have a must read op-ed in the New York Times this morning on Iraq. Their view is that: “We are finally getting somewhere in Iraq, at least in military terms. As two analysts who have harshly criticized the
The death of Ingmar Bergman coincides with the re-release of his greatest film, The Seventh Seal (1957), a meditation upon death and the fear of godlessness set in the middle ages but inspired by the nuclear terrors of the Cold War. The bleakness of Bergman’s oeuvre is undeniable, but his films were not cold: there
Gordon Brown’s op-ed in the Washington Post this morning shows how fluent he is in the language of the special relationship. (Although, Brown speaks it with a less emotional and more intellectual accent than Blair). His piece hits all the right notes and by approvingly quoting Ronald Reagan he shows Washington’s Republican elite that he
Gordon Brown’s first Prime Ministerial visit to the United States is working well so far. He has kept his personal distance by wearing a suit and not bringing along his wife but balanced this with a statement expressing admiration for the United States and invoking the usual Churchillian rhetoric. He is not playing to the
Perhaps the best outcome of these torrid last few weeks is that the Cameron project has been brought down to earth. After winning the party leadership against all the odds, some of the Cameroons had the idea they could walk on water, and rewrite the normal laws of politics. They thought if they said the
David Davis’s warning to his party to show discipline and stick to the centre ground in today’s Sunday Telegraph is the best news for the other David in a while. Davis is scarcely a woolly liberal, a Soho brand manager or a tree hugger. His voice reaches parts of the party Cameron cannot reach. Well-read
Sir: I’m very encouraged to see you doing such wonderful work supporting Boris Johnson in his bid to be Mayor of London… Why we need Boris Sir: I’m very encouraged to see you doing such wonderful work supporting Boris Johnson in his bid to be Mayor of London (Leading article, 21 July). Yes, it’ll be
This review essay by Samantha Power, a Harvard professor who is close to Obama, on where the Bush presidency is leaving the war on terror is well worth reading. Her main concern is that the American public, with little faith in the credibility of the government’s claims, may deny even cleareyed leaders the resources they
The waters of the River Avon, recounted the vicar of Bengeworth, outside Evesham, ‘reached almost to the keystone of the arch of the bridge, and extended up Port Street to the public pump on the south side of the street… The waters of the River Avon, recounted the vicar of Bengeworth, outside Evesham, ‘reached almost
With Gordon jetting off to Camp David and the Simpsons movie coming out this weekend, here’s Tony Blair–he used to be Prime Minister, you know–doing a cameo on the show. Somehow, I think, that this is one invite Gordon will never get.
George W. Bush and Tony Blair famously bonded over their mutual use of Colgate toothpaste at their first meeting at Camp David. With Gordon Brown heading there this weekend, one can’t help but wonder which product he and Bush have in common? Anyone have any ideas? One thing we can be confident of, though, is
Doesn’t anyone spot what Gordon Brown is really up to? The great Peter Riddell isn’t convinced that he has altered the Blair reform agenda, and thinks that “changes are at the margins”. Well, you could say that. If you snap the brake cable of a car, change is at the margins – but the consequences
There are few things that can be more boring that floating around in a tin can looking down at the earth. So I’m glad to hear that the astronauts have found a way, albeit a rather unoriginal one, to make the time fly by. (Insert your own joke about one small sip for man, one giant
Today’s Telegraph poll is disastrous for Cameron. That the Tories are 9 points behind Labour is not even the worst news in it for him; what should worry him most is how his personal ratings have plummeted. In February, 43% of the electorate thought he was proving a good leader and 27% that he wasn’t
If you’re wondering what to make of the Chinese decision to invest in Barclays and the Qatari effort to buy Sainsburys do read this column that Martin Vander Weyer has done for us explaining why there is nothing sinister about such developments.
It’s the electability, stupid should be one of the major themes of the Obama campaign if they want to play harball with Hillary. The Democrats are desperate to take back the White House and the polls suggest that he is far better placed to do that than her. Just look at the numbers when you pit
At the YouTube debate Barack Obama and Hillary got into a row about whether or not the US president should meet with some of the world’s least attractive leaders—Castro, Chavez, Ahmadinejad etc. Clinton went after Obama hard for promising to meet with all these guys during his first year in office. After the debate, she
What do neo-con action hero John Rambo and not-neo-con newspaper The Independent have in common? A bottle of champagne to the first Coffee Houser to get the right answer.
The new issue of the always excellent Prospect has a great debate between Andrew Marr and Joan Smith about whether the mass emotionalism that followed Diana’s death, and is now a regular part of our national life, is a good thing or not. Andrew Marr argues that thanks to it: “We are a more relaxed