Is this the best Obama endorsement so far?

Is this the best Obama endorsement so far?

What can McCain-Palin do in the final few days? As we enter the final week of the 2008 US White House race newspapers right across the night are coming out for one candidate or the other. And there’s one today which will give extra pleasure to the Obama camp – from the leading publication in the state where Sarah Palin is governor, Alaska. This is how the Anchorage Daily News sees it: “..Gov. Palin’s nomination clearly alters the landscape for…

Read More Read More

Will Glenrothes be Gordon’s personal triumph?

Will Glenrothes be Gordon’s personal triumph?

Should you be taking the 7/4 on a Labour hold? On the face of it the mathematics are on the SNP’s side in the Glenrothes by election which takes place a week on Thursday. Just three months ago the party took the Labour stronghold of Glasgow East with a 22.5% swing and on top that it holds the seat in Holyrood. So the 14.3% Glenrothes swing target is much lower in comparison which is probably the reason that ever since…

Read More Read More

Could it happen here?

Could it happen here?

Talent show host’s party takes second place in Lithuania Following live election results in the likes of Austria and Canada is one thing, but it has to be admitted that Lithuania isn’t generally one of the 25 or so countries that I try to keep an eye on. However, it caught my attention that the party securing second place in the first round of the country’s general election a fortnight ago (the run-off round is today), the National Resurrection Party,…

Read More Read More

Your Sunday morning papers Lord Mandelson

Your Sunday morning papers Lord Mandelson

The Independent on Sunday..“..Peter Mandelson’s last act as European Trade Commissioner was to advocate new trade rules that will directly benefit the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska..Less than a month ago, in one of his final speeches before being recalled to the Cabinet and after he accepted hospitality on the Russian’s yacht, Lord Mandelson announced a new EU trade strategy giving multinational companies freer access to raw materials, including scrap aluminium and natural minerals used in the production of the metal..Mr…

Read More Read More

Who will get the blame in the GOP?

Who will get the blame in the GOP?

Which way for the Republican party after November? Tuesday last, I was invited to speak in a debate at Portcullis House by Liberal International on why a McCain presidency might not be such a bad thing after all (for Liberals). I threw four or five arguments into the mix (some persuasive, others less so), but one thought in particular has festered ever since: that if John McCain loses, the impact on the direction of the Republican Party could be significant….

Read More Read More

Could Mandy end up being the biggest loser?

Could Mandy end up being the biggest loser?

Why has he written to the Times today? One of the problems with having a “back story” like Peter Mandelson, fairly or unfairly, is that the default assumption is that you are up to no good. So what are we to make of the latest developments in “Yachtgate” where Mandy has written to the Times today to “explain” that his contacts with the Russian billionaire, Oleg Deripaska, went back two years further than previously publicly stated. So his first account…

Read More Read More

What do we think of the Keith Mothersson’s scenario?

What do we think of the Keith Mothersson’s scenario?

Could Obama really be robbed of victory in this way? [Keith Mothersson of the Campaign for Visible Ballots has been following the US election integrity movement since 2000. In this guest slot he gives his assessment of the current state of play.] Psephologists sometimes look too closely at opinion polls, naively assuming a predictable feed through into election results. The election in the US is a genuine no-holds-barred struggle which could easily go all the way the Supreme Court and/or…

Read More Read More

Which way should you be betting in the closing stages?

Which way should you be betting in the closing stages?

Could McCain-Palin pull something back in the final few days? The panel shows the latest spread prices on the US election from Sporting Index where there has been a further move away from John McCain in the past day. The other markets from IG Index and Spreadfair are a bit more favourable to McCain in their electoral college votes spread. A full range of betting exchange and convention bookie US Election prices is here. A big question now is what’s…

Read More Read More