I interviewed the former Secretary of State on the sidelines of the Clinton Global Initiative yesterday; she discusses her advice for the incoming commander-in-chief, drawn from her book Memo to the President Elect (which I mistakenly called Memo to the Next President – sorry about that, Madame Secretary.
Dmitri Trenin and Anne-Marie Slaughter conducted a debate over the proposition that “The west should be bolder with a newly assertive Russia”, and I moderated the debate. Ms Slaughter won a lively contest narrowly, and readers contributed over 500 comments.
This week I’m appearing on “Insight”, Australia’s biggest current-affairs program, to talk about the American elections. It was a big panel with slightly raucous audience participation, but it was fun.
John McCain fires up the Republicans, but Sarah Palin remains the main talking point
“Mr McCain never staked his reputation on his making speeches and the last night was as much a party-wide celebration of finding its collective voice as it was a rally around its man. Mr McCain and Mrs Palin make a striking ticket: an old maverick and a young darling of the conservatives. Both claim that Mr Obama has been a bit too fast in his ambition. They may yet persuade some independents and swing-voters to think about giving the Republicans another turn in the White House, if Mr McCain can push his own theme of reform and getting rid of corruption…”
Ron Paul’s alternative convention targets NAFTA and the Fed
“In the arena, the fans booed mentions of John McCain and George Bush. But they boisterously cheered the names of Friedrich Hayek and Murray Rothbard, libertarian economists from decades past. Any favourable mention of guns or the constitution won cheers; but hard words for the Iraq war gained the biggest roars of approval, and speaker after speaker hit themes of personal responsibility and small government…”
A strong speech from Barack Obama caps the Democratic convention
“Most importantly, he attacked John McCain without ever seeming nasty. Noting that McCain had voted with George Bush 90% of the time, he said ‘I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to take a 10% chance on change.’ And he declared confidently that he looks forward to tangling with Mr McCain on foreign policy: ‘The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans, Republicans and Democrats, have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.’ He managed to be sharp in his criticism while refusing to question Mr McCain’s motives or patriotism…”
