http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/rupert-cornwell/?service=Rss http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/rupert-cornwell/rupert-cornwell-why-cant-the-us-learn-to-love-its-government-1816868.html http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/rupert-cornwell/rupert-cornwell-why-cant-the-us-learn-to-love-its-government-1816868.html <p>What is it about Americans and government? The tea-party crowd were back in town the other day – more than 5,000 of them, gathered on the West Lawn of the Capitol to rail against the historic healthcare reform bill that the House of Representatives is expected to pass this weekend.</p> Rupert Cornwell Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/rupert-cornwell/rupert-cornwell-a-warning-for-both-democrats-and-rightwing-conservatives-1814800.html http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/rupert-cornwell/rupert-cornwell-a-warning-for-both-democrats-and-rightwing-conservatives-1814800.html <p>This week's off-year elections sent the same lesson to both Democrats and Republicans. In the US, as in every other democracy, elections are won and lost in the centre. Parties that ignore that truth do so at their peril.</p> Rupert Cornwell Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/rupert-cornwell/rupert-cornwell-gridiron-faces-crunch-time-over-head-injuries-1812755.html http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/rupert-cornwell/rupert-cornwell-gridiron-faces-crunch-time-over-head-injuries-1812755.html <p>The scene is as evocative, as quintessentially American as a Norman Rockwell painting: noisy schoolchildren on an autumn evening in the park opposite where I live, assembled for sports practice. Only one element jars – the helmets and bulky shoulder padding worn by these diminutive athletes, as their instructor takes them through a routine of sprints and tackles. But whatever the contrast with the innocence of the moment, no coach or parent would have it otherwise. Such is the reality of the troubled sport of American football.</p> Rupert Cornwell Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/rupert-cornwell/rupert-cornwell-spot-the-hoax-in-the-land-of-fox-news-1808959.html http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/rupert-cornwell/rupert-cornwell-spot-the-hoax-in-the-land-of-fox-news-1808959.html ]]> <p>This summer, I finally managed to see Schtonk!, the German movie about the fake Hitler diaries affair of 1983. As hoaxes go, this was among the very best: a rip-roaring, reputation-shredding, utterly riotous scam that provided innocent entertainment for all (except for the hapless Stern magazine, which wasted millions on buying and publishing its "scoop" of the century). The movie, itself now almost two decades old, is no less terrific. It also has a very modern relevance. These days, America lives in a permanent state of schtonk.</p> Rupert Cornwell Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:00:01 +0100 http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/rupert-cornwell/rupert-cornwell-the-mormon-who-could-save-obamas-skin-1804770.html http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/rupert-cornwell/rupert-cornwell-the-mormon-who-could-save-obamas-skin-1804770.html <p>The searchlight is on the man from Searchlight, Nevada. Or to put it another way, the struggle to reform the US healthcare system is Harry Reid's show. President Obama can explain and cajole. In the House of Representatives, the Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, should be able to keep her Democratic flock in line. But almost certainly, the measure's ultimate fate will be decided in the Senate. And there, no one will have a greater impact on what happens than the man in charge of the body still fond of describing itself as the greatest deliberative chamber on earth - one Harry Mason Reid.</p> Rupert Cornwell Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:00:01 +0100 http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/rupert-cornwell/rupert-cornwell-procedures-are-the-problem-1802257.html http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/rupert-cornwell/rupert-cornwell-procedures-are-the-problem-1802257.html <p>As its hopes of healthcare reform suffer endless interference on Capitol Hill, how the Obama administration must wish it was operating by British rules.</p> Rupert Cornwell Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:00:01 +0100 http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/rupert-cornwell/rupert-cornwell-in-tony-sopranos-home-town-fat-is-a-political-issue-1800895.html http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/rupert-cornwell/rupert-cornwell-in-tony-sopranos-home-town-fat-is-a-political-issue-1800895.html <p>Forget the healthcare fight, and forget Sarah Palin (who, in any case, has gone oddly quiet ahead of the publication next month of her autobiography, Going Rogue). To put it in non-PC terms, the most intriguing question of the hour in American politics is this: can a fat man be elected governor of a major state?</p> Rupert Cornwell Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:00:01 +0100 http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/rupert-cornwell/rupert-cornwell-the-real-world-has-little-time-for-prizes-1800589.html http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/rupert-cornwell/rupert-cornwell-the-real-world-has-little-time-for-prizes-1800589.html <p>If Henry Kissinger's Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 was said to signify the death of satire, the one that's been awarded to Barack Obama may go down as the triumph of naivety. Henry the Great had indeed cosied up to vile regimes in Latin America and ordered the secret bombing of Cambodia. But he was also the arch exponent of realpolitik, who extricated the US from a futile war. That is why he was awarded the prize.</p> Rupert Cornwell Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:00:01 +0100