You ain't going nowhere

Have finally cracked open the (18 month old) West Wing box set, although had to resort to watching in on my (very small) laptop because the DVD player refused to cooperate. (And yes, I do think it's personal. Technology has a grudge against me, which manifests itself at every given opportunity. I don't know why, but it does. The only reason I'm blogging now is because the TV has also decided to stop working too, so I can't watch the news which I hope is about the Tories, not us).

The fleeting possibility that just maybe there's someone out there at this very moment being lined up to replace Damian McBride in the Downing Street press corps who looks exactly like Sam Seaborn is the only thing that has kept me from jumping off the balcony this weekend, which has of course been profoundly depressing on all fronts. Although I would settle for Josh Lynam.

Also on the subject of American politics, did you see Obama do his comedy routine in front of the press corps? Nailed it. Naturally. Doesn't he always? He said his first 100 days had been such a success that they were going to complete the next 100 days in 72. And on the 73rd day, he would rest. And there was a joke about Hilary and swine flu, but more about that in a moment.

All this has got me thinking. In the USA the President is the President is the President. Nothing short of impeachment or death can stop him being President until his term of office is over. OK, there's a theoretical possibility as he approaches the end of his first term that his party could dump him for someone more popular, but it's a remote one. Which means - or at least it seems to me from where I'm sitting - that you remove at one stroke all the endless speculation about leadership and challenges and rivalries that is such an obsession of the British political chattering classes.

Take the joke Obama made about Hilary Clinton last night. He said that although they'd been rivals during the primaries, they'd grown a lot closer; she'd given him a great big hug when she got back from Mexico and said that he should pay it a visit too. Now imagine what the press reaction would have been if Gordon Brown had made the same joke about David Miliband...

What impact would it have on British politics if we had fixed term parliaments, a maximum two terms in office for a Prime Minister, and a rule that the party in Government could not change its leader except at election time? Which I appreciate would rule out the Blair/ Brown handover in 2006, although it would almost certainly have meant a Blair/ Brown handover in 2005 and a clear mandate for Gordon from the electorate.

I'm not actually an advocate of fixed parliaments, as I can't see what would happen if no one party got a majority - would you have to limp on for four years trying to hold a coalition together? But still.... I'd give an awful lot to get away from the endless sniping and speculation and gossip - most of it totally uninformed and inaccurate, but damaging nonetheless - about leadership ambitions and potential coups and backbench plotting that we have at the moment.

Have you seen Gordon's list?

On a lighter note, Tom Harris has tagged me on this - the list of DVDs which Barack Obama gave Gordon Brown, which incidentally I think was a mighty fine present, especially seeing as Gordon is a film buff. (Although I was slightly put out to learn, many years ago, that Gordon walked out of Pulp Fiction. I like to think it was because he was with someone who was easily offended, rather than taking offence himself).

These are the films: Citizen Kane, The Godfather, Casablanca, Raging Bull, Singin’ in the Rain, Gone with the Wind, Lawrence of Arabia, Schindler’s List, Vertigo, The Wizard of Oz, City Lights, The Searchers, Star Wars: Episode IV, Psycho, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Sunset Boulevard, The Graduate,The General, On the Waterfront, It’s a Wonderful Life, Chinatown, Some Like it Hot, The Grapes of Wrath, ET: The Extra-Terrestrial and To Kill a Mockingbird.

You get two points for owning them, one point for seeing them and nul points if you've done neither. Tom got 22. I won't beat that.

I own - On the Waterfront.

I've seen - Citizen Kane, The Godfather, Casablanca, Raging Bull, Singin’ in the Rain, Schindler’s List, Vertigo, The Wizard of Oz, Psycho, The Graduate, It’s a Wonderful Life, Chinatown, Some Like it Hot, and To Kill a Mockingbird. [And I'm not 100% sure about Chinatown actually].

So, a measly 16 points out a possible 50. I tag - Paul Smith, the Bristol Blogger, Northern Lights, Bevanite and someone called Dave (there seems to be rather a lot of you).

P.S. Tom - foie gras adverts on the website?

"You are making me stupider!"

I love this post. Love it. I couldn't have written it, but I should at least have tried. Orwell prize for Hopi!

Communist cartwheels

Hat Tip to Olly's Onions (see, I'm learning) for alerting me to this. Scary. And not for the reason the author suggests.

Labour looks to Obama

Douglas was out in Washington last week, and he's blogged about it on LabourList, including on what lessons we can learn from his use of the internet.

It's been a long time coming...

Obama concert tonight. Apparently stars have been asked to sing songs which are "appropriate to the occasion" rather than their own hits, including Sam Cooke's A Change is Gonna Come. I hope Mary J Blige or Beyonce aren't going to warble all the way through it. And please, please don't use it for the mass sing-a-long, everyone on stage finale, with them all trying to outdo each other. I can just visualise Bono and Bruce now.

We need a old timer... someone you might just about imagine being born by the river in a little tent. Stevie Wonder hasn't quite got the voice for it, and most of the soul legends are dead. Any suggestions? Smokey Robinson maybe, or is his voice a bit too light for it?

I object again!

The Daily Mail is at it too, and has nicked Sky's headline. The Mail has recently introduced a new feature on its comments, whereby readers can mark a comment 'up' or 'down' according to whether they agree with it or not. Anyone have any idea how I can do that on here?

I like the fact that at least 255 men* so far agree with Charles, UK, who says that: "The women that are drooling over Obuma [sic] don't have very high standards as he's at best very average. And don't forget his 10 inch thick pencil thin neck that makes him look like a victim of some disease. Come on girls, you can do better than that!" And at least 501 men* disagree with Akos from London, who drools: "Wow!!! I love it. After 20th Jan I bet we wont see much of these pics anymore. HE is tres gorgeous!!!!"

* Of course they're men.

I object to male objectification

Can I be the first (probably not) to complain about Sky News' shameless objectification of the male physique, with its round the clock coverage of President-elect, Barack Obama, "topless" in his swimwear in Hawaii. The leering sexism (not to mention disappointing inaccuracy) behind its 'Commander in briefs' headline. The fatuous 'expert' analysis of 'how Barry got his beach body'. The totally gratutious use of shots of other important people without their shirts on to pad out the item to a respectable length and give them an opportunity to show the presidential pecs yet again. All entirely unnecessary and not what we expect of our national media.

PS Is this a chance to show my pics of Boris again?

What a lightweight!

Apparently David Cameron's attempt to convince Obama of his intellectual depth by giving him a mixtape with the Smiths on it didn't quite work.

This week's Popbitch

From Popbitch. Obama, ribs, fried chicken and watermelon.

They also have a feature where readers vote on the best named people of the month. Number 1 this month is a policeman in Weymouth, Dorset... Rick O'Shea.

One of my best mates is also called Rick O'Shea. Used to be in the army. Corporal Rick O'Shea... (I am not making this up). He once accidentally set fire to his shirt with lighter fuel at Labour conference, lost his security pass when he took off his shirt to douse the flames, and got evicted from the secure zone. This was at 3am, and when we finally tracked him down we found bemused security guards radio-ing each other saying, 'he claims his name is Rick O'Shea...'

Time for some campaigning

An entertaining little clip sent to me by Kelvin Blake. I'll off to Miami for the last week of the campaign, with about ten others. Procrastinated for a long time before booking the flight, but then thought what the hell, this could be history in the making and I want to be there for it.

Black is black

On a more frivolous note... I bought a copy of Ebony magazine in Botswana, with a cover story on 'The 25 coolest brothers of all time". There were:

• Barack Obama
• Don Cheadle
• Billy Dee Williams
• Sidney Poitier
• Quincy Jones
• Lenny Kravitz
• Jimi Hendrix
• Richard Roundtree
• Denzel Washington
• Sammy Davis Jr
• Bob Marley
• Ed Bradley*
• Tupac Shakur
• Adam Clayton Powell Jr*
• Gordon Parks*
• Muhammad Ali
• Miles Davis
• Walt Frazier*
• Jay-Z
• Samuel L. Jackson
• Malcolm X
• Snoop Dogg
• Prince
• Michael Jordan
• Marvin Gaye

Leaving aside the three or four I've never heard of (*), I'd have left out Prince and Lenny Kravitz on the grounds they both try too hard (as the article says, cool should be effortless). Snoop Dogg is just a tad too sleazy and sexist, and I'm not sure that Tupac really deserves to be singled out - I'd probably have opted for Dr Dre, just on the basis of talent.

As for omissions - Sam Cooke without a question of doubt (see above pic if you really need persuading). Michael Johnson, the athlete - not just for his remarkable running style, which always looked like a cartoon character running off the edge of a cliff, but also because he's a decent commentator these days too - and seems like a really nice guy. And while we're on athletes, how about Tommie Smith and John Carlos? Maybe John Coltrane rather than Miles Davis? And Nelson Mandela - for the shirts, as well as everything else.

And can I make a special case for Billy Ocean? No, I thought not.

The more you ignore me, the closer I get

Cameron declared on Tuesday 'no smugness, no triumphalism, no complacency'... (No smugness? Has anyone spoken to Michael Gove?)

Cameron also let it be known he'd tried to get hold of Barack Obama to tell the presidential candidate what words of wisdom he would be imparting on the situation in Georgia at his monthly press conference. Obama was apparently not available for a chat, which I find hard to believe. Surely he couldn't have had more important things to do than talk to Dave?

A hypothetical question

I'm going to pose a hypothetical question, prompted by an encounter I had with someone earlier today.

Hillary Clinton had a bit of a rough ride during the Democratic primaries; Barrack Obama will no doubt have a rough ride during the presidential campaign. Leave aside for the moment the flak they've attracted because of their gender and their race, and some of the dubious attacks whuch purport to be about something else. but really do come back to those two factors. I'm talking just about the usual political cut-and-thrust: the attacks on their policies, their performance, their campaigns, their connections.

It's not inconceivable - in fact it's fairly likely - that some who look to Clinton and Obama as role models might be detered from entering public life because of what they've seen them go through over the past few months: the sheer intensity of the scrutiny, the relentlessness of being called to account, or being asked to defend what appear on the surface to be questionable decisions or dubious behaviour. And of course we want more women and more people from ethnic minority communities to come forward as candidates and play a role in public life. But that can't possibly be a reason to go soft on Clinton and Obama, can it? If they're running for office, they have to be judged by the same ethical standards as any WASP male, surely?

Obama - the future and the past?

For all the talk of Barack Obama heralding an era of change in American politics, for me a large part of his appeal is the fact that he looks like he could easily have been around in the 1960s, in the days of the civil rights movement. You could quite easily put him next to Marvin Gaye on American Bandstand, or with Sam Cooke jamming with Cassius Clay (this is such classic footage) or alongside Martin Luther King marching on Washington. Not only does this just make him look a hell of a lot cooler than his political peers, but he also evokes memories of a more innocent, more idealistic time, when it was clear that political action could and did change things; that there were things worth fighting for. I really hope he can live up to expectations.