The biggest job of all still beckons for an outgoing Secretary of State who gets more popular with age

The President knows that his current ambassador to the UN is an exceptional talent. What he can't be sure of is how she's so annoyed his political opponents

Out of America: Oliver Stone's new 10-part TV series is blasting apart the sacred myth of American exceptionalism. It's not perfect, but it's a start

If the GOP wants to win next time, its leaders need to wrest power from the Tea Party fringe and embrace the changes in the US

He can use the next four years to tackle some of the US's worst problems – if only the Republicans will let him

In his own words, “he's done”. Philip Roth, for half a century a towering figure of US literature and the author of 31 books including Goodbye Columbus, Portnoy's Complaint and The Plot Against America, will write no more.

Republicans will have to confront America as it is - not as they want it to be

Tired of all those psephologists who, after machine-gunning you with figures for half an hour, say they still aren't sure whether Barack Obama or Mitt Romney's going to win? Let's turn to some of the quicker, if less scientific predictors of the result. Alas, in 2012 they're as mixed up as the pros.

Rupert Cornwell introduces our pull-out companion for insomniac UK viewers

This campaign has been long, uninspiring and negative, but it is still anyone's to win