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But there’s something to it as well:

“The collapse of the convention was in fact bracketed by two other major political events — events that show how much Europe stands to lose if it cannot strengthen its position in the geopolitical arena. Both events involve what the French call ‘the hyperpower,’ the U.S. Both deliver the same message: that the world isn’t waiting for Europe to buff up its internal political agenda. Giscard may be proved right after all.”

And some interesting notions:

“A Beijing-Washington axis, ‘if it can hold, will be the most hopeful chance for state peace this century,’ says Julian Lindley-French, a strategic affairs specialist at the Geneva Center for Security Policy. ‘And Europeans? They make noises about their new role in the world, but basically it’s clear they want to stay on their eternal merry-go-round.’”

I don’t accept the whole argument, but it’s worth thinking about why the argument doesn’t hold water.

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For confirmation, look no further than the challenger from the party out of power four years ago. No primaries had been held, but GW Bush was a front-runner who had rewritten the rules of presidential politics, and he had an enormous number of questions swirling about him. And they were far more serious than those swirling around Gov. Dean right now: Bush was an admitted alcoholic until the time he turned 40; he was governor of Texas, a post the quirks of history left with far less political power than the state’s Lieutenant governor; he had a poor record of convincing people to do his bidding; most of his career involved questionable business deals that traded on his name. None of that, of course, kept him from the White House.

Anyway, two points for Europeans looking at the American election: key people in the press (and Balz is one of the most important paper’s most important reporters) have very short memories and are apt to say very stupid things.

Second, tagging Dean as someone who rewrote the rules is actually an astute observazion, maybe even the most important one he could possibly make. Because rewriting the rules is precisely what GW Bush did in 2000, what Bill Clinton did in 1992, what GHW Bush did in 1988, what Ronald Reagan did in 1980, and what Jimmy Carter did in 1976, which is about as far back as my political memory reaches. If Dean really is rewriting the rules, then he is exercising the single most important presidential skill: dominating the national agenda. And if he can keep doing it — which will involve continuing to do all of the little things right that his campaign has done so far, while offering a vision for the future — the chances are good that he will be moving to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue come January of 2005.

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Well, here from India, is a little exquisite detail for the xmas stocking. See you soon, and have a good holiday.

On the Balcony
by Nancy Gandhi

We had coffee on the balcony. Wicker chairs, a wicker table, potted plants. The balcony wall is solid and high. Above our heads were palm fronds from the neighbour’s tree, and all we could see were the tops of our feathery casuarinas and gul mohurs, and eucalyptus.

Because everything was reduced to this small space, I sensed the texture of things more strongly than elsewhere - the incised design on the pottery mugs, the teapot’s bamboo handle. The multi-layered paint on the white wicker furniture, the chip on the rim of the pot which holds a small fir tree. The palm fronds which bobbed just above me and seemed about to brush my face.

Beyond the balcony is the compound wall and the road. Beyond that is a construction site which used to be a marshy backwater, which stank once in a while in the dry season. Beyond that is a small cemetery. I went there one day, and asked the caretaker to open the gate. He stood with his dog barking beside him, and shook his head.

Beyond the cemetery is another narrow body of water, which stinks more than our backwater did, and beyond that is Foreshore Estates and the beginning of Santhome High Road, which is narrow and congested, full of shops and houses, churches and schools.

I took an American visitor to Santhome Cathedral once, to see the tomb of Saint Thomas the Apostle. It’s probably not really his tomb, and the church is not very interesting, but this man crossed himself repeatedly, and touched the feet of a crucifix hanging on the wall, and put his fingers to his lips.

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