Barack Obama looked poised to win the presidential election as Prospect went to press. But there were still some doubts about the great man—especially about his appeal among so-called "downscale Democrats," less euphemistically known as the credit-crunched Hillary-supporting poor. The fear was that the "elitist" tag had stuck, just as a windsurfing habit crippled John Kerry in 2004. It didn't help that Obama seemed to appeal so strongly to the right-wing rich. Christopher Buckley, author of Thank You For Smoking and son of conservative grandee William F Buckley Jr, recently came out for him. It looked like a blatant spoiling tactic—until the National Review, which Buckley's dad founded, sacked him as a columnist.
The weird thing about this election has been the absence of socio-demographic electoral voting blocs. What happened to all the security and soccer moms, Nascar dads and even South Park Republicans of yesteryear? It has been slim pickings, with downscale Democrats the pick of a feeble bunch. We were offered "lunch bucket Democrats"—frugal sorts who bring food to work—but how to tell them apart from the downscale ones? "Hockey moms" had their moment with Sarah Palin, but lost their way along with their elaborately-coiffed champion. Not a bad thing, you might think. The idea of cartoonish swing voter groups is largely pollster spin. As election analyst Ruy Teixeira argues, they are irrelevant to election outcomes. Mind you, if the US economy really implodes, the lunch bucket bandwagon may be worth leaping on for 2012.
Hey, Obama
The Obama campaign is hardly short of pop star endorsements, but then Paul McCartney is hardly any old pop star—so when he told Prospect he believes "Barack Obama will be the greatest next president of America," we sat up and took notice. The revelation comes from an interview between McCartney and Jonathan Power—McCartney's classmate at secondary school, a contributing editor at Prospect and historian of Amnesty International—which will exclusively feature in our December issue. In several hours of conversation, McCartney recalls how he discussed the Vietnam war with Bertrand Russell, why he might have overreacted to 9/11, why he still uses his first ever bass guitar—and how FR Leavis provided the inspiration for "Eleanor Rigby."
Tanks triumphant
Britain's wonks gathered this October to hear the results of Prospect's coveted annual think tank of the year award. The judges surprised many in picking the Royal United Services Institute, an unflashy outfit, praising its "strong focus with global reputation." Runner up was the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Iain Duncan Smith's Centre for Social Justice (CJS) also won the publication of the year for "Breakthrough Britain."
Current media darlings Policy Exchange left empty-handed, although they recently picked up a new director in Neil O'Brien, former head of OpenEurope. Meanwhile, a much-remarked trend for female think tank leadership seemed momentarily under threat, with news of the resignation of Demos's Catherine Fieschi, and the Social Market Foundation's Ann Rossiter's decision to become a government adviser. Good news, then, that two lesser-known replacements turned up at the awards: Jill Kirby, head of the conservative Centre for Policy Studies, and Philippa Stroud of the CJS. That few had noticed is perhaps a reflection of the low profile of certain right-wing tanks over recent years. Expect this to change in time for next year's awards.
Image, below: the Pink Gang—Sampat Pal Devi, leader of the Pink Gang, a group of women from Bundelkand region of Utttar Pradesh, India. The Pink Gang, who "use vigilante tactics to achieve greater social justice," has thrashed men who abandon or beat their wives and has unearther corruption in grain distribution.
A Nobel cause
When the Nobel prize for literature falls to someone like French novelist Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, as it did on 9th October 2008, an editor's lot is not a happy one. What to say about a genius you've never heard of whose books are barely available in English? Well, there's the cut-and-paste approach, as exemplified by the Daily Mail's observation that Le Clézio started writing aged seven and "since then he has published about thirty books," an (inaccurate) line taken verbatim from Wikipedia. Or there's the ringing endorsement from glancing acquaintance, as modelled by Boyd Tonkin's praise in the Independent of the "lyrical and mystical power" of an author of whose works he has read "a small fraction" and never mentioned before. And then, of course, there's the American angle, epitomised by the 10th October headline in the LA Times: "Le Clézio—who's he?"
Andrew Glyn
Andrew Glyn—Marxist economist, old Etonian, fellow of Corpus Christi, Oxford, jazz aficionado, adviser to Militant and Arthur Scargill, son of the sixth Baron Wolverton and a descendant of the founders of Williams & Glyn's Bank—died last December at the age of 64. This September, friends and admirers from across the political spectrum gathered in Oxford to consider his achievements, the state of the world—and the sad timing of his death. Glyn's last book, Capitalism Unleashed (2006), predicted a fate much like the present financial crisis for Anglo-Saxon capitalism. As Martin Wolf, one of many present, noted: "How I would have loved to have heard Andrew saying 'I told you so.'"
Apres Mandelson, la baronne
Whatever her merits, there is little doubt that Ashton won her job because her seat is in the Lords rather than the Commons. She can therefore take up the post without prompting a byelection which the government would probably lose. And that also means she has an excellent chance of being reappointed next year to serve a full term as commissioner—even though others, including Geoff Hoon, would like the post. Back in June, Sarko bluntly listed "Mandelson" as one reason for the Irish "no" vote on the Lisbon treaty. Who will his next b?(tm)te noire be? Brussels is aquiver with anticipation.
The left moves on
These are grim times for the British left. Intriguing, then, to hear of moves to set up a native version of the controversial American left wing campaigning group Moveon.org. We understand the provisionally titled "Progressive Majority" is to be launched next year, funded in part by monies left from the estate of Anita Roddick. Although without formal links to Moveon, the new group will share its focus on lefty issues, and copy many of its methods, including a focus on email lists and high-profile advertising. We hear they're looking for a director. Takers?
The Speccie of Oz
Australia's underpopulated political magazine market now faces not one but two Pommy invaders, as both The Week and The Spectator picked October to launch antipodean editions. For The Week, this means an entirely new mag, while The Spectator will initially be producing 12 Australian pages to be added to copies of the magazine printed in Sydney. As some eagle-eyed Ozzie readers noted, however, its very first sentence didn't bode too well, getting the date of the first landing at Botany Bay wrong. With Oscar Humphries—son of Barry—commissioning content from London, did a note get lost in transportation?
Iceland terror
The decision to use terrorism law to freeze the British assets of Iceland's Landsbanki, confirms the worst fears of civil liberties groups about "function creep." Why, then has the normally vocal Liberty remained silent? The freeze has also caused havoc for many British businesses who use the bank—the Bank of England has now had to lend it $100m.
Who's the heir to Pierre?
Gloomy Liberals note that the race threatens to become a rerun of the last contest in 2006, in which Dion beat both on his way to victory. Some spice may be added if Rae and Ignatieff, former flatmates from their student days, repeat some of their testier exchanges from last time round, including Rae accusing the former Harvard human rights professor of being the kind of "guy who's changed his mind three times in a week with respect to the middle east." And an unlikely but intriguing prospect could brighten things up. Justin Trudeau, the recently elected 36-year-old son of famed former liberal leader Pierre, is being encouraged to throw his hat into the ring. Could the race to lead Canada's left come down to a competition between a candidate often described by his supporters as the heir to Trudeau (Ignatieff), and another who actually is? And, if so, how would the late Trudeau senior have voted?
