None of the above

I must say I have never liked the cut of Hillary Clinton’s jib; there was the business about some property in the south back when she was a lawyer, the failure at healthcare, I don’t know, there’s something not quite right. I ask myself whether there isn’t a bit of sexism in my view – do we set different standards for members of the opposite sex? Is this why I am disturbed that she is always photographed with a manic look, pointing and with her mouth open, like a crazed football referee? And Obama, well he seems out of his depth, doesn’t he? Mr Nice Guy who, when asked, said he would unilaterally invade Pakistan if he thought Osama bin Laden was there (well, he’s not in Philadelphia, Barack).

Is it in the interests of Americans, to say nothing of the rest of us, that this election seems to be about security? There were whisperings that the US needed someone tougher than Clinton on the nuclear button (although she looks to me as if she would nuke you as soon as say good morning), Barack makes this macho posturing, MacCain is doing well because of his security experience.

I am reminded that when George W Bush came into office (it seems a long time ago now) the big worry internationally was that his would be an isolationist presidency, that because he had never been abroad (except once to China with is father) he would be more interested in US Farm Payroll numbers than what happened in the outside world. And yet what will Bush be remembered for? And isn’t what we, the outside world, would like now a quiet President who got the economy working again and left the outside world alone?

It seems easy to carp about the quality of presidential candidates – Nixon the crook, Ford the idiot, Carter the peanut farmer, Reagan the B-movie actor etc - but the person has to be a human being and will have failings. The only one I can recall who seemed qualified for the job, who had been Ambassador to the UN, Head of the CIA, Vice President, was George Bush Snr, who was a disaster.

Hey-ho. Let’s hope for the best