Quote of the Day

"The fact that Barack Obama would also be the first black president has obscured the significance of his political colouring. If he wins, he will be the first northern, urban liberal to win the presidency since the culture wars broke out in the US in the 1960s...the one point in the 2008 campaign when the momentum switched to the Republicans was when Mr McCain nominated Ms Palin and chucked some red meat to red America. The cultural card was working for the Republicans until Lehman Brothers collapsed."
Gideon Rachman, FT

[She was a big juicy hunk of red meat to the Blue America and the centrists too though, wasn't she? If you agree with the FT that America is a country of about 40 per cent conservatives, 40 per cent moderates and 20 per cent liberals, and you consider where McCain was in the polls prior to picking Palin....FAIL."]

Possible essay question for the next generation of historians:

Could Bush have avoided the Crash of 2008 and saved the Republican Party by bailing out Lehman Bros?