A Must See! Jon Snow intervieng Gore Vidal on the state of US politics. Vidal's comments on Dubya are priceless! http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=M3R-qOEZtYo

Interesting but not that outrageous. I was also disappointed that the 'full interview' mentioned at the end of it was exactly the same as the one I'd just watched! Only die-hards or retards still support Bush so his comments were no surprise at all. In Salzburg last year we sat next to an American at a Mozart dinner/concert and had to suppress a huge amount of laughter when he declared that he was a "Bush man through and through!" I was tempted to reply that as he wasn't black or Australian I failed to see how he could consider himself to be a bushman, but presumed that it wouldn't register with him at all. Satire isn't well understood by Americans of relatively high intellect, let alone "bushmen"!

Well! How totally astounding! You actually found two Americans with high intellect? :D

I suppose that anyone with an IQ above 90 (70 in Alabama and Louisiana) has to be considered intelligent by American standards. Current Bush supporters currently qualify for a sub-50 IQ level, no matter what their actual score may be. Or they are being compensated enormously for being prepared to look absolutely ridiculous publicly.

It's Obama. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/04/barackobama.hillaryclinton

I have to make one comment. If all it takes is a 16 year old to change an adult's mind then it shows the depth to which the adult mind has sunk in the US. Some had originally counted themselves Clinton supporters. Ruth O'Neill was a reluctant convert, a former Clinton supporter who was persuaded to switch sides by her 16-year-old son. "This is the first time I would put on an Obama shirt," she said. "But my son was right: he kept saying if she had this much trouble running her campaign how could she run the country." Simplistic and disingenuous, I can only imagine that a black teacher had said it a couple of times in class and the kid has now declared himself to be a political wunderkind!

Massive support here for Israel from Obama and Clinton. Iran gets a significant mention too. This story could almost appear in the Israel/Iran thread because the support is so overwhelming. Is it just me or does anyone else find the language used here a bit curious? From the BBC Obama pledges support for Israel Barack Obama has pledged unwavering support for Israel in his first foreign policy speech since declaring himself the Democratic nominee for president. He told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), a prominent Jewish lobby, Israel's security was "sacrosanct" and "non-negotiable". He also said he would do "everything" (????) to stop Iran getting a nuclear weapon. As the Democrats' primary season ended, Mr Obama received the support of enough delegates to clinch the nomination. His rival, Hillary Clinton, has yet to concede. Their speeches to Aipac focused on similar topics - with Mr Obama setting out what he would do as US president, while Mrs Clinton referred to what "the next president" should do. She told Aipac the Democratic party's strong commitment to Israel would continue under the next Democratic president. "I know Senator Obama understands what is at stake here," she said. "It is an honour to call him my friend - and let me be clear, I know that Senator Obama will be a good friend to Israel." Whoever gets the Democratic nomination to run for president will face Republican John McCain. Palestinian anger Mr Obama told Aipac real security came from lasting peace in the Middle East - and he would work from the start of his administration to achieve a Palestinian state alongside an Israeli one, but with Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel - a comment rejected by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Crowd lifts Obama Turning his attention to Iran, Mr Obama said the US-led war in Iraq had emboldened the Islamic state, which posed a real, grave danger. "My goal will be to eliminate this threat," he said. Mr Obama said "aggressive, principled diplomacy" was needed to deal with Tehran but added that he would "always keep the threat of military action on the table to defend our security and our ally Israel". Mr McCain's senior foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann criticised Mr Obama's speech, saying he presented "a false choice... that the only diplomacy that can work is with Iranian leaders". "And Senator McCain has a very different view, that the kind of diplomacy we should pursue is with our allies," he told the AFP news agency. He said the Israel-American relationship was a cross-party issue - but he criticised the current administration's policies in the region.

It is very aggressive language, somewhat at odds with some of his earlier comments, particularly after Hillary Clinton said that if Iran attacked Israel she would (presuming she made it to president) obliterate Iran. I think that the most contentious part would be a Palestinian state without rights over Jerusalem in any way. The muzzies are hardly likely to hand over the keys to the Al Aqsa mosque!

Anyway, Mrs Clinton has finally accepted the fact that she's lost and has bowed out of the con-*test*-('"). It was her air of 'entitlement' that I really found unpleasant.

Bill was nowhere near as much an asset as she had hoped. To many people he was baggage. In the US people generally don't go into politics without a plan as to what they want to achieve - for some the attainment of power is the goal and not what they want to do with it if they get it. In Hillary's case she very much wanted to improve the lot of the working class and the disadvantaged who don't get anything like the ride over there that they do in the UK. We have taken 3 or 4 weeks holiday a year for granted, in the US the norm is for 2, for example. The NHS is something else that we take for granted, in the US there are millions of people who are refused treatment, or get grossly inferior treatment, because they can't afford to pay insurance. Hillary is not in it for what she can get out of it, but for what she can put into it.

Tony - I've rarely seen you so enthusiastic about a politician! I didn't mind Bill in some respects, but I imagine that he does rather better over here these days than he does in the States. Even though I was not totally anti, I always felt that the Clintons have more of an agenda than others - and, of course, they ALL have one... I think that it HAS to be Obama now. America needs a new voice for a new generation. It could be quite exciting - but then again...

Yes, I'm rooting for Obama as well.

Why is that?