I attend a ‘house concert’ for the Tidewater Arts Outreach charity in Norfolk VA that brings artistis into care home and to people with limited mobility. What I witnessed at this event was a real comimg together of people around a performance from MSG, a hugely talented acoustic blues trio, that was indicatives of the kind of civic associationalism that so inspired Alexis de Tocqueville in his seminal book, Democracy in America.

It was the kind of collective action that Robert Putnam argued had been waning in America in his book Bowling Alone. But here was a committed group of people enjoying music in a private house for a sigificant cause that brings joy and comfort to those those whose access to the arts is otherwise limited.

No fear mongering, no harsh commentary, no negativity. Just high spirits, laughter, celebration, and stripped down music evocative of the birth of the blues in America. The pentatonic foundations, Piedmont finger picking, washboard brushing, and souful crooning from the band communicated the heart of all that is good with America.

I hope that this kind of spirit in whatever small way transcends the bitter partisan bickering that dominates the airwaves as the county’s mid term elections approach.

As I return to work this week, I have a spring in my step and a satisfied conviction that collective action for positive change is alive and well in my country.

What would be different? What would be the same? How would I feel?

I have been here since the 26th of July and I am here to visit family in Norfolk, VA for two weeks. After the usual long drive to Heathrow (4 hours this time), flight to Dulles (8 hours), layover (3 hours), and flight to Norfolk (28 minutes), I arrived to a sweltering 97 degrees F and beautiful sunshine.

The pulse in America is very different to life in the UK. There is an urgency to the discourse (well on CNN anyway) and within the book shops, the ‘current affairs’ section is teeming with fear-mongering books from the left and from the right. The right is worried about the undermining of traditional values and threats to the homeland, the left is worried about the assault on liberties and the loss of the basic promise of justice. The president is accused of lacking ‘cojones’ and the oil spill clean up has entered the phase of ‘static kill’; a strange terminology in my view, but the latest attempt to plug the well in the Gulf, while the new debate on the use of disperants is heating up. The leaked documents on Afghanistan dominate the headlines along with Chelsea Clinton’s wedding (?). 

The thing that srtikes me the most is the ‘self-made’ nature of much of the punditry and the air time given to such luminaries as Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck, who appear to dominate the commentary. Still not sure what either of them have really done or what value they offer to the American cultural and political consciousness…

I spent a day with the 16 Air Assault Bridade in Colchester the day before I left for the US and now I am in the largest military town in the US, which carries with it a certain sobriety about the world that confronts us. The 16 Air Assault Brigade will deploy to Afghanistan soon, so the leaked documents could not have come at a worse time. They are classified for a reason and whatever the commentary, I can’t help feeling that their publication puts all forces from the coalition at an addititional and unnecessary risk. The USS Eisenhower has just returned to its base here after six months of service and the town is abuzz with airplanes, helicopters, and warships.

The level of instant access and service is still the same, and the banter with family is refreshing, light, and enjoyable as we spend days together catching up from disparate and busy lives. Live concerts, museums, an aquarium, sailing, horse riding, and time on the beach have made this unbelievably nice.

I return to Washington DC in a month and look forward to assessing the state of the union from its Capital. I will be participating in the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association whose theme this year is ‘politics in hard times’…unemployment is high across the OECD countries, the recovery is sputtering in America, and the Coalition Government in the UK is implementing its ‘new austerity’ policy, the full impact of which no one really knows at this stage.

At times like these, family is so important, and pausing to appreciate the little things in life can bring great comfort. I only hope that many more people are experiencing the same thing, and if not, that they take the time to do so…

Norfolk, VA

Woke to the dulcet tones of my little Briony Rose. Quick feed and then an early train to London for a meeting with the BBC followed by lunch and a meeting with colleagues from Mozambique for our project on parliamentary strengthening. Our good friends at Thomson Reuters have provided a great venue for our meetings. I am now enjoying the view of a canal in Canary Wharf all the way to the O2 Arena.

What a superb city London is. Lunch was in Byron Hamburgers on Tavistock Street near Covent Garden. Good burger (as an American I was impressed) and fries followed by a fascinating snoop through Treadwells Books, the highlight of which was a good look through Jung’s Liber Nova….wow!

What an opus!

You must visit Treadwells for an eye opening experience. I can’wait to perform there on October 1. Nice eerie stuff is planned. Visit wwwmmagicnights.co.uk to learn more…

The day shall finish with a dinner at The Gun in Docklands where Nelson himself carried out his trysts! I hear the food is great.

Ah the secrets of London are always a delight!

The cuts we expected. The uncomfortable mixture of policies we expected. The clamour of voices, claims and counter claims we expected. The continuation of the expenses scandal we did not. Or at least we hoped we would not have to see another story on this problem.

Again we are confronted with a politician making ex post facto arguments for why over 400000 pounds was claimed in error. The appeal to privacy is fine as long as it does not involve public money. This is yet another example of the crossing of the public and the private in ways that continues to sully Westminster and by extension, Number 10.

The much publicised reduction in ministerial salaries and perks made a welcome change to the system, but this appears to be an endemic and corrosive problem that simply will not go away. Its eradication will take a significant culture shift that one only hopes is actually possible.

For now, I would like to see the Coalition do the right thing and act swiftly to demonstrate its commitment to cleaning up British politics.

the election has had all the drama of massive variation in swing votes across the constituencies, administrative disenfranchisement and the felling of some Labour big beasts.

As for the Clegg surge…it didn’t materialise in the vote.

But, Clegg is now the man of the hour. Cameron courts him from the right with a broad and comprehensive invitation that appears anything but broad or comprehensive, while Brown offers the much sought after prize of electoral reform.

The games are classic illustrations of rational choice, pitting a mix of outright material self-interest against party ideology and the national interest, which requires a stable government to oversee the economic recovery.

Monday will reveal more of the games, strategies and we hope a suitable outcome. Adam Przeworski once described democracy as ‘instituionalized uncertainty’. These past few days have witnessed precisely that! Let’s hope for the sake of stability a deal emerges sooner rather than later.

We have had a month of campaigning, four and a half hours of debates and thousands of column inches in the papers for and about the election.

And yet 40 percent of the population remain undecided. Perhaps the struggle to capture the centre has produced this result. The polls put the Conservatives ahead by a small lead once the margin of error is taken into account and the frenetic last minute campaigning shows that none of the candidates is taking anything for granted.

The psephologists have been busy telling us that the result will likely be a hung parliament while the parties have creative ways of telling voters how to vote tactically….ahem…intelligently.

The debates invigorated the electorate so turnout should be higher this time. With a higher turn out, more new voters, and 40 percent floating or undecided, the prediction game is more uncertain than ever.

My neck of the woods is South Suffolk, presumably a safe seat for Tim Yeo, but our village has dared raaise quite a few Lib Dem placards. Not a labour sign in sight. With this much volatility around, who knows?

The prediction game this year might best be left to the mentalists!

Our big question was ‘does personality matter more than policy?’

Naturally I think both matter but certainly privilege policy over personality. Combining the two of them of course is the winner.

The Cameron, Clegg, and Brown show has certainly shifted politics in the UK, galvanised public discourse and mobilised first time voters. Personality came across as important but are not people really worried about who will tax me more, cut services that effect me and roll out a set of policies that are relevant to my interests and well being?

Now, with the prospects of a hung parliament, personality, and in my view more importantly, charisma will really matter for governance. A charismatic leader will need to transcend party differences and try to sustain a coalition to actually govern the country.

We must remember Max Weber on charismatic authority, as opposed to traditional and legal rational authority. Only charismatic authority like that possessed by Thatcher, Reagan, Clinton, Blair and Obama can work for the short to medium term during the period of a hung parliament.

Which of CCB has that and will they win?

In the ‘City of 1000 trains’, the format was the same (Clegg still in the middle) and the topic meant to be one of strangth for Brown. With a nod to yesterday’s gaffe, Brown focused on the threat of a double dip recession while Clegg gave concrete examples of what would be cut. Cameron wants pay freezes and Brown does not want to cut until the economy recovers.

The spectre of Greece is Brown’s backdrop as he called for patience while the economy recovers, and Cameron skirted past some of the difficult tax questions.

The sound bites were classic. Cameron on Brown’s economic plans:

‘Let me go on wasting your money and tax you later.’

Clegg on Cameron and Brown’s cosy relationship with the City of London:

‘Don’t let one square mile govern what happens in 100,000 square miles of the whole country.’

Both Cameron and Brown claimed links to Obama in dealing with the banks, while Clegg claimed that RBS, funded by taxpayers money helped finance Kraft’s takeover of Cadbury which resulted in job losses.

But the most curious word in the whole debate that kept popping up was:

‘Grip’.

So, we all need to get a grip and get out there and vote!

Two opening salvos of the night from Nick Clegg set the tone of what turned out to be a much more fiery affair this week.

Clegg opened with an appeal to cherished British values of democracy, human rights (the first leader to mention this ‘strange’ concept), and fair play. He then argued how these values had become undermined of late, and made specific reference to British complicity in the use of torture.

His second salvo came over Europe. In celebrating the transnational crime capacity of the EU that made possible the dissolution of a child sex ring, Clegg (almost) shouted, “We cannot put dogma above the safety of our children.”

Who could disagree?

This tone seemed to carry through the night as Brown and Cameron sought to regain ground from last week’s arguably lacklustre performance. Clegg did not come out particularly well as so much expectation was building since last week. The positioning favoured Cameron who looked stronger than last week but could not explain why he could support free eye tests for pensioners but not why this was not mentioned in the manifesto.

Brown is facing a classic double-edged sword: as the incumbent he can call upon 13 years of experience in taking tought decisions, but as the incumbent, he has to defend 13 years of record in office.

The Trident Missile System debate was probably the most heated of the evening, and led to Brown’s outburst of “Get real Nick!”

Overall, the leaders seemed more relaxed, better prepared, and engaged in a real contest for running this country.

One more to go and then it is decision time. 

I love it that this country can decide its leader in 4 weeks and in the US it takes 2 years…oh…and at least $100 million!

Well, the first television debate for a British Election has been and gone. 77 rules of engagement, including no applause, meant that this was always going to be a bit of a stilted affair. No cheers, no catcalls and no sound bites like ‘senator, I knew Jack Kennedy and you are no Jack Kennedy!’ as launched against the infamous Dan Quayle. Moreover, expressions like ‘clash’ and ‘locked horns’ somehow seem inappropriate or even silly…

But after 20 minutes, the pace picked up and the issues got a reasoanble airing, although at times Cameron, Clegg, and Brown appeared like partners from the same firm given the degree of consensus across some of the issues.

I am not sure if Cameron missed it, but in his criticism of a 7 percent pay rise for NHS managers I wondered if he realised the man who asked the question was actually an NHS manager! Surely, this is bad form. He repeated the charge later on as well!

Clegg had nothing to lose and very little to defend as his party has never been office and therefore he appeared the most relaxed and arguably came out ahead, or so the instant ITV ‘X Factor’ poll of 4000 respondents revealed.

For me the suprise of the night was Brown. We have caught glimpses of him at the dispatch box, the odd interview on TV, and party conference speeches, but last night I thought he did rather well. He was in the most disadvantaged position as he is the incumbent and thus survived rather well.

For those wanting the pizzazz of a US style debate (if you can describe either McCain or Palin in these terms), the debate was disappointing. But if you wanted to hear the three leaders address the big isssues in a way never seen before in the UK, then the event was well worth watching. It was smoothe and polished but slightly underplayed…

I am ready for round 2!