Archive for the ‘American current affairs’ Category
Kamala Harris vs Donald Trump: the first (and last?) debate
September 11th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
Fascinated though I am by American politics, I was never going to stay up and lose sleep watching live the ABC one and a half hour presidential election debate between current Vice-President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. But I made a point of recording the debate and watching every minute today. I rather […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
It’s looking a lot like Kamala
July 22nd, 2024 by Roger Darlington
If we were starting from scratch, I would have liked to see a variety of possible Democratic presidential candidates in action and I’m particularly interested on Gavin Newsom, the Governor of California. But already it’s looking as if Kamala Harris will replace Joe Biden as the Democrat candidate to face Donald Trump on 5 November. […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
Thanks, Joe. Sorry, but you had to go.
July 21st, 2024 by Roger Darlington
Eight days ago, I did a blog posting arguing that Joe Biden needed to step down as the presumptive presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. He has now – after much pressure and delay – agreed to go. The selection of a new candidate is uncharted territory. I would like to see a contest rather […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
Joe Biden now needs to make the most difficult and honourable decision of his career
July 13th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
Joe Biden has been an excellent president – decent and progressive. If he had had a majority in both chambers of Congress, he could have been a truly transformational leader. But he needs now to do what is best for the United States and the world and recognise that, while he is still an able […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (1)
Three quotes from three US presidents
February 13th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
“Ich bin ein Berliner.” — President John F. Kennedy, June 26, 1963 “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” — President Ronald Reagan, June 12, 1987 “I would encourage [the Russians] to do whatever the hell they want.” — Donald Trump, February 10, 2024
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
Trump could be back in the White House
November 22nd, 2023 by Roger Darlington
“Public opinion polls in the United States are the stuff of nightmares. The website RealClearPolitics aggregates all the major polls. The eight most recent polls regarding the 2024 elections — from respected pollsters including NBC News, the Economist, Reuters and others — all show the same thing. Trump defeats Biden. In one of those polls, […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
America is not the greatest country in the world
May 25th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
Let us hail Madeline Albright, the first female US Secretary of State
March 24th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
I was saddened to hear of the death of Madeleine Albright at the aged of 84 following her diagnosis of cancer. She was an outstanding public figure in American politics and the first woman to hold the post of Secretary of State (in European terms, Foreign Minister) in the Clinton administration. You can read an […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
Joe Biden has now served a year as US President, so how’s it going?
January 20th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
I’m massively interested in American politics and regularly attend relevant courses and lectures – currently online – provided by London’s City Literary Institute and delivered by the college principal Mark Malcolmson. Today marks the first anniversary of Joe Biden’s tenure as U S President and this evening’s lecture reviewed the events of the last year […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (2)
In American politics, what is the filibuster and why does it need to change?
January 11th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
Historically, activity in the Senate has tended to be less partisan and more individualistic than in the House of Representatives with a degree of cross-party co-operation called working “across the aisle”. But this situation has changed dramatically in recent decades with most voting now strictly on party lines. Senate rules permit what is called a […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)