Washington Affairs

19 January 2004


Iowa Caucuses Won't End until June
Some time this week, the media will announce a winner in the Iowa caucuses, helping determine who the Democratic front-runner is, who is still in the race, and who's finished already. However, what the media have largely failed to do is explain precisely what is happening. Like the electoral college that put Mr. Bush in the White House (with some help from the Supreme Court), the Iowa caucus can create a result that appears contrary to democratic principles. Click here to read more.

Bush Announces Space Vision Thing
When the Elder President Bush announced that the US should commit itself to sending men to Mars, few noticed, cared or remembered. Not surprisingly, then, when George Bush the Lesser decided to make the same announcement, it was hyped to the point of being the worst kept secret in Washington. He may have blathered on about distant adventures in the far future, but a little robot already on Mars was sending back more data than any astronaut could collect. Click here for more.

Bush's Iraq Sovereignty Plan Hits Snag -- Democracy
It must be hard to be a liberator. Marching into an oppressed land, promising freedom, democracy and wealth, and then being expected to deliver. Everything was going so well for Mr. Bush in Iraq, things on target for handing the country over to America's friends there in a few months. And then someone in Iraq (a Shi'ite cleric) suggested that the people actually should vote on their government and knocked American policy to the ground. Click here to read on.