Thursday, November 13, 2008

From bitchiness to disasters...

This is what I spent part of my day doing yesterday - reliving teenage hell - and this is what I'll be doing this afternoon for Polis at the LSE....

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Were you still up for Ohio?

Went to bed but with the radio on and woke up to hear Obama's acceptance speech. Have to say it made me cry a bit. 
Best moments on TV - Dimbleby completely losing control of Schama and Bolton. Schama trying to make the BBC call it; Bolton getting into slanging match with Katty Kay and then demanding Rajesh Mirchandani be sacked...(it was a pretty rubbish interview and too combative that Mirchandani did but Bolton was really frothing at the mouth...)

Forgot to mention - Burger King and Subway were the food outlets of choice at the Embassy last night. Spotted - George Robertson and George Osborne's PR (in different rooms I hasten to add)


Ps Courtesy of the Guardian - I missed Maureen Dowd on the BBC but love these two quotes. First on John McCain's fundamental problem...

"In a way it reminds me of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. The Republican Family did not let John McCain marry the girl that he wanted to which was Joe Lieberman so he married the younger, fashion-interested girl that they chose for him. It fell apart and the two camps began sniping at each other and now McCain just wants to get back to Lieberman."

And second, when asked by Paxo how historic the night was:

"The first 16 presidents of this country could have owned Barack Obama"
So...just heard Ohio has been called for Obama...Just  back from the US Embassy complete with cheerleaders outside, where it seemed likely (the lifesize cardboard cut-outs of Obama and Palin were being grabbed so people could have their photos taken with them; McCain's was left propped up against the wall....*) and a huge cheer went up when Pennsylvania was called for Obama
Spotted: Ian Paisley, Margaret Beckett, Hazel Blears, Chris Huhne in black tie, Nick Robinson, Andrew Rawnsley (wearing a Charles Tyrwhitt tie); Nick Robinson (bad shoes), Mark Thompson (wearing the same jacket as he did on the Andrew Marr show; obviously cutbacks already at the BBC), Janet Street Porter (shouting), Zeinab Badawi (taking two icecream canapes at once), Lembit Opik lurking outside the media centre
Downstairs Glenn Tillyard was reprising Squeeze's greatest hits - although difficult to see how Up the Junction relates to the election; and a disastrous attempt at Perfect Day (NB never get drunken US embassy guests to try to sing Lou Reed ex tempore) - although it was worth it at the end when Tillyard kept asking "Ian Paisley...come up here if you're here"
A poor woman dressed in droopy eau de nil as the Statue of Liberty was still holding the torch high (literally - must have biceps of steel) by 2am

*Actually cant even remember if Biden was there....

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Overexcited and over here

Have read every single Telegraph, Guardian, BBC update....wish I was over in the US - but about to head out for the next best place....