Across the pond

Hillary Clinton seems to have taken on board the point that I, and other commenators made about allowing her vulnerability to show through. She herself attributes her success in New Hampshire to the crying scene. Clearly it was a factor, as indicated by the overwhelming support she got from the women of New Hampshire. But not the only factor. She was also favoured by the high age profile of the voters. She has been as successful with the aged as has Obama with youth.

The vote gave her 39 per cent against 36 per cent for Obama, with the most radical Democratic candidate,  John Edwards, a long way behind. New Hampshire still does not warm to anything that seems like socialism. The result also made me wonder just why so few older voters have nailed their colours to the Obama mast. Could it be that that there is a lot more conscious or unconscious raciism amongst older Americans.

The Democratic race now looks like a two-horse race, which either of the two might win. It will clearly be a tough battle and therefore not easy for Hillary develop her softer feminine qualities when she has to do battle on the hustings and on the television screens.

The other winner in New Hampshire, John McCain, is admired for combining his tough war hero side with a stern ethical stance, which makes the political machines seem shabby. He also has a sense of humour and dealt with the age issue well by saying he was too old to be a comeback kid. Nevertheless I persist in thinking that the reality of  a 71-75-year-old President is going to put off some voters.

But all of the Republican candidates have substantial negatives. Huckabee is too much the born-again Christian even for the majority of Republicans. Particularly when Americans have had years of George Bush’s friends with their mission to save the world from scientists who think creationism is a myth and from Muslims, whe think that American consumer capitalism is immoral. George Romney, a highly experienced Governor, has floundered in the campaign on a number of issues, including the religious one, by trying to catch the evangelical vote by stressing the similarity between the Mormons and the mainstream Christian religions. Although Romney does not have four wives, he does suffer from the fact that the religion he follows is widely regarded as a cult. Finally, there is Rudy Giuliani, the mayor of New York, who won a national and international reputation for the way he rallied tho city after the appalling events of 9/11. But he has had at least three wives and makes regular appearances in the gossip columns. And as the French Prime Minister is discovering, too much emphasis on your love life does not go down too well with the electorate who wonder if you have enough time left over to run the country.

Giuliani is not even entering the campaign until the Florida primary, but if he wins that he may be in a position to challenge McCain.