Archive for the ‘American current affairs’ Category
Today in the United States it’s Super Tuesday as Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden square up to one another big time
March 3rd, 2020 by Roger Darlington
I’m fascinated by American politics, so I’ve been following the contest to select a Democratic Party candidate to run against the Republican Donald Trump in the US presidential election in November. A massive field of candidates has been running but the number has recently fallen very quickly and very substantially with Pete Buttigieg and Amy […]
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American politics in (in)action
February 4th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
They can’t impeach a president who is as guilty as hell. They can’t count caucus votes in one of the least populous states in the union. If you want to know more about the American political system, check out my guide. But we Brits can’t be smug. We couldn’t hold a clean referendum on the […]
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Why does Iowa always vote first anyway?
February 3rd, 2020 by Roger Darlington
Today Democratic Party supporters in the state of Iowa will hold caucuses to decide who they want as their candidate in November’s American presidential election. Iowa always goes first in the selection process which gives this small, rural, white state exceptional importance – but why? Well, it hasn’t in fact always been the case. Democrats […]
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While British politics has calmed down a lot, American politics remains as exciting as ever
January 31st, 2020 by Roger Darlington
By the end of today, Britain will have left the European Union after being a member for 47 years. A foreign friend asked me if there was an air of excitement. I explained that, since the decisive general election of 12 December 2019, there has been a sense of resignation. Those who supported Brexit thought […]
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Who would be the Democrats’ best choice to defeat Donald Trump in the battle for the White House?
January 24th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
The ‘New York Times” editorial board spent a lot of time talking with the candidates and deliberating on their preferred individual. In the end and most unusually, they decide to back two candidates: Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar. This feature is a thoughtful assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the different personalities running for the candidacy, […]
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How liberal is America’s Democratic Party?
January 21st, 2020 by Roger Darlington
Last weekend, I went on a one-day course at London’s City Literary Institute with the title “Liberalism And The Democratic Party: From FDR To Today”. The course was delivered by Brian Kennedy, a knowledgeable and eloquent American who hails from Boston. We were told that a progressive wing of American politics first developed in the […]
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Birthday greetings to Michelle (and Catrin) – and a review of “Becoming”
January 17th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
Today is the birthday of former American First Lady Michelle Obama (as well as my granddaughter no 1 Catrin) and this is as good an excuse as any to reprint my review of her bestselling biography “Becoming” and to recommend it to you (if you haven’t already read it). “Becoming” by Michelle Obama Barack and Michelle […]
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When will we know the name of the Democratic opponent of Donald Trump (or just maybe Mike Pence)?
November 22nd, 2019 by Roger Darlington
There’s frustation in some quarters of the Democrat Party that there are still so many candidates seeking the party’s nomination to contest the presidential election in November 2020 and there is still no obvious front runner. Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are currently the strongest contenders with Pete Buttigieg coming up strongly, but […]
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Who will challenge Trump for the Republican candidacy and will it make any difference?
August 26th, 2019 by Roger Darlington
There are still over 20 politicians seeking to become the Democratic candidate in the US presidential election of 2020. I’ve seen most of them interviewed on “The Daily Show” with Trevor Noah and any of them would be a dramatic improvement on the current occupant of the White House. Most are very fluent and many […]
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The inverted yield curve – or why the American economy might be heading for a recession (followed by the world economy of course)
August 18th, 2019 by Roger Darlington
“Every recession of the last 60 years has been preceded by an inverted yield curve. The term is off-puttingly wonky but it just means investors see trouble ahead. There’s some argument that the oracular power of inversions ain’t what it used to be thanks to the aggressive monetary policies that have been pursued by central banks […]
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