I'm not sure "charisma" is really the word. It suggests some kind of hero figure with carefully coiffed hair on a white horse. What Ken Livingstone has is an apparent quality of affability and lack of pomposity.

There's a sense in which this is an image, as with any other public figure. I don't think the question of "how far you can trust the man, and how far the image is a valid one" and all that is too interesting at this time.

What I find more interesting is, what is it about the image that appeals to people? Because I reckon there must be lots of politicians trying to work that out, and find ways of bottling it and applying it to themselves. Though I don't think it'll work for them.

I don't think America is in fact short of people who fit the bill, it's just that you've got a way of keeping them out of politics these days. Ken Livingstone has said his role model for mayor is Fiorella La Guardia. My pick for President would be Michael Moore