And some might differ from me.

The problem I foresee is that if you have to make concessions to your enemies, in order to obtain power, what is it that you are going to get done?

The war will work itself out. What America needs, what millions of Americans (is it 57 million?) need right now is a national health service, a proper welfare state, rights for working people, and a government with the courage to apply the New Deal expenditure philosphy to your threatened recession (which in turn like the Republican candidates warmongering threatens the rest of the world, but unlike that will leave your economy owned by the Indians and Chinese and such profits as there might be exported).

It also needs the rule of law reinstated and an honest political process.

Over here we made the mistake of believing that Blair and Brown had paid lip-service to the post-Thatcherite middle ground simply to get elected, and that they would reveal true socialist colours in due course. How our hopes have been dashed.

If you elect someone who has bought in to (indeed is almost indentured to) large parts of the Republican middle ground, that's what you will have until at least the next election: the Republican middle ground. You will not get "change" for nothing concrete has been promised.

Learn from our mistakes. But on the other hand, Clinton is not all that different, albeit for her the enemy is everyone who is not her, as distinct from all those from other countries.

I realise that you find the expression "magic wand" laden with odd overtones, but Obama will not bring you one.