Across the pond

The Wall St Journal is the only one of the US heavies to talk figures today on the batttle for the US presidency. The Journal reports that Obama has now taken the lead in the votes of the super delegates, those senior party leaders, who cast their votes at the convention, alongside the delegates who are pledged to vote one way or another by the popular votes in the primaries.

The Journal, quoting Associated Press, says that Obama has 276 superdelegates for him, against only 271.5 for Clinton. There have been several contradictory figures oven the last few days on the superdelegates’ scorecard. This is not surprising because the figures reported are partly based on hard evidence and partly on the ring around by journalists calling superdelegates to discover their latest position. But all the results shows the two candidates neck to neck.

And with only a a handful of primaries still to declare Obama has a clear majority of the delegates elected by the popular vote. So that it is now almost certain that Obama, not Clinton, will carry the Democratic banner into the election next November.

The Washington Post’s Election story focusses on a speech by the leading leftish candidate for the job, John Edwards, who has finally committed himself to Obama, after sitting on the fence ever since he dropped out of the race himself. This is an important endorsement, because Clinton has a strong following amoungst left-of-centre Americans.

As for the New York Times the headline for their article says it all. It was:

Already, Obama and McCain Map Fall Strategies

Murdoch’s main popular US newspaper, the New York Post has other concerns, including O.J. Simpson, who is still alive and well and talking to the newspapers, and George Bush.s daughter, who is apparently getting marride. For its election coverage it chooses an AP story, headlined:

Clinton goes from inevitable nominee to on the ropes

Again, the headline says it all.

That leaves Fox Television, which is Murdoch’s television company in the US. They have a ‘Clinton leads Mothers’ Day Charge story. It reports Clinton efforts to fan the dying embers of her campaign but it also reports Obama snatching the lead amoungs the superdelegates. They also have a story highlighting the resignation of a McCan aide, who was close to the Burmese junta.

So no sign here of Murdoch’s media bowing to their master’s voice, rather than following the reporting imperatives.

Murdoch, I am sure will want to have some influence on both the US election and the British election but he is not declaring his hand at this stage. His first newspaper job was on the Daily Express, in the days of Lord Beaverbrook, whose political sympathies were well-known and trumpeted by the Beaver himself, in tthe media and in early-morning telephone calls to his journalists.

Murdoch behaves quite differently. He likes to listen to his journalists before he takes a position. And, though he is most definitely right-wing in his sympathies, he does not ally himelf to any political party. But like Beaverbrook, who had his obsessions with Empire Free Trade and the welfare of his native Canada, Murdoch has strong passions. Against Europe and for Jesus Christ.

So I don’t think Obama has anythinng to fear from Murdoch. He is so Christian that he has dealt with his rabble rousing pastor very charitably.

Brown may not be so lucky, though he is, according to report, a follower of the man from Galilee. But it is not a driving force in his life, as it was, and is, with Tony Blair. And the most talked about leader from Labour’s next generation, David Millibrand, is the son of a man who actually went public saying that Karl Marx had ideas that were worth thinking about.

If Murdoch went for the most high profile believer in the Labour cabinet, he would be pushing for Ruth Kelly. No evidence for that.

So that should be some comfort to Gordon Brown. But not too much. Because there may be a leader in the wings who none of the commenators, including myself, rate.

No-one, but no-one, thought Margaret Thatcher was a possible Tory Prime Minister, until the force of events gave her the opportunity, which she grabbed with both hands, demolishing the sceptics with one swing of her handbag.