Is the Republican Party ready to lead America again? (BBC)
By Justin Webb
BBC News
What do the primaries reveal about the state of the Republican Party in the US? Is the party really split? As Super Tuesday approaches, former BBC North America editor Justin Webb asks what Republican voters really want.
The former British Prime Minister John Major tells a story about soundbites. He was visiting Boris Yeltsin in Moscow when Yeltsin was president of a fast-collapsing Russia.
It was the early 1990's and things were bad. To make conversation Mr Major asks Mr Yeltsin a question.
"In a word, Boris, what is the state of your nation?"
"In a word: good!"
The Prime Minister felt a fool. He had been fobbed off in front of his civil servants with an answer that was patently wrong. So he tried again:
"What is the longer version of that, Boris?"
"Not good!"
***
more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17210652
I find the BBC commentaries on American politics interesting, but get the impression that they don't really understand Republicans. After describing most of what's wrong with the Republican Party today, the author turns suddenly -- and I would say unjustifiably -- optimistic at the end. It's kind of like he doesn't want to deliver the bad news to a patient with an incurable condition.
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