When Thompson dropped out of the race, a couple of fellow Fredheads here in California sent emails asking me to let them know when I finally decided how I would cast my ballot—as I recall, the number was just exactly that, two. With the fate of the nation thus hanging on my verdict, three points:1. Paul Mirengoff’s explanation of why he decided to vote for Romney persuaded me to vote for McCain. Right up to the conclusion, I agreed with nearly every word Paul wrote. Like Paul, I see Romney as data-driven, McCain as man much more likely to make his decisions based on "instinct," although the word I would use is not "instinct" but "principle." (Nobody undergoes torture in a North Vietnamese campe rather than accept an offer of freedom, as McCain did, based on "instinct.") But there are times—lots of times—when a president must make decisions under conditions of imperfect information, and other times—again, lots of times—when even heaps of data cannot in and of themselves lead a chief executive to the right conclusion.

Obama stays close in race as Republican rivals lag

The democratic candidates have already positioned in this run, made clear their political options and the politics they stand for. McCain on the other side still struggles in which way he wants to relate to G.W. Bush and his unpopular politics. Instead of hesitating about such details he should start explaining people what his actual choice in politics is. There are many fields; he certainly should position in the question of Iraq and explain how he wishes to give Americans new hope in a mostly lost battle, either by ending it as fast as possible or by saying how he wants to put in useful means to make progress.

More political topics occur, he should position in social issues. America still has a high number of low-income citizens and especially their children who have no health-insurance.

Kids like booze and sex. So what?

Truly, as the Home Secretary declaimed, society has reached some kind of "tipping point".

Jacqui Smith was actually referring to a terrifying new statistic in her war against underage boozing: more 13-year-olds have drunk alcohol than have not. As with the many sweeping and horrifying pronouncements on the young, there was scant clarification and no historical perspective. So I rang the Home Office and discovered that this means that 54 per cent of kids aged 13 have tasted alcohol in their lifetimes. Well, sign up my two mini-winos for The Pledge! My sons have sipped champagne, swigged my beer - provoking sour-lemon-faced disbelief - been encouraged to taste wine at dinner. I thought that is how we're supposed to initiate them into a Francophile, middle-class Waitrose world: less likely to create binge drinkers than locking booze in a tantalising box marked "adult fun".

Iran dominates Republican presidential debate in conservative South ...

There was a history lesson in the beginning, maybe first 15 minutes, where it was mentioned. But anyway, the mighty dollar has lost about 60% of its value against THE euro in about 5 years on GWB's watch and nobody seems to care.. That is ODD...