RSA Thursday - US Elections 2008: the view from here

7th Feb 2008; 13:00

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In the aftermath of Super Tuesday, join us for a lively and topical panel discussion with a range of expert contributors focussing on 'the view from here'.

Aside from analysis of the results of 5th February primaries, and looking ahead to the future course of the election contest itself and likely repercussions for the UK, we'll be asking why this particular race has generated such excitement over here. There has never been such strong interest in a US Presidential election at such an early stage. Digital technology, an expanding blogosphere and a voracious 24 hour news media have taken us ever closer to the US democratic process. Does the huge media and popular interest reveal what's lacking in our own political culture? Or are we just all missing our West Wing fix…?

Speakers include: Candace Allen, author, screenwriter and principal of Americans Abroad for Obama, London; Stryker McGuire, London Bureau Chief, Newsweek; Stefan Halper, former adviser to four US Presidents, director of the Donner Atlantic Studies programme, University of Cambridge and author of The Silence of the Rational Centre: Why American Foreign Policy is Failing.

Chaired by Martin Kettle, columnist, The Guardian.

Download the full lecture and Q&A session (MP3, 13 MB)