Activity on this blog has slowed down but with the shape of the 2012 US Presidential election campaign ever so slightly coalescing, this may be as good a time as any to get some more politics-oriented posts up and running again. And, courtesy of the British Academy, I am heading back across the Atlantic for some 'inside the beltway' research come September which is yet another good reason for sharpening my focus on American politics.
So what's out there, beyond the scholarly literature, for keeping abreast of current events in American politics? The two key newspapers of record of course, The Washington Post and The New York Times, as well as some good quality commentary in The Economist and The New York Review of Books.
Because the US currently has a Democratic President it is particularly interesting to try and figure out what is happening with opposition politics in Washington and throughout the US. And the Republicans find themselves in a less than pleasant situation at the moment. Besides Obama being likely to rack up a billion dollars for his re-election bid, the field of Republican contenders beyond the 'establishment' candidate Mitt Romney is hardly inspiring (as the recently held Republican debate in New Hampshire made clear).
On the difficulties facing the Republican party, and those now claiming (perhaps not very convincingly) to adhere to an American tradition of conservatism, I find David Frum's FrumForum of particular interest. Frum's persistent critiques of the Tea Party, Republican party politics and the increasingly agitated populism characterising 21st Century conservatism in America is insightful and bound to have resonance among those 'within' who are increasingly despairing at where the GOP is heading.
Frum, a former economic speech-writer for President George W Bush, is a foreigner too (well, he's Canadian) and perhaps that perspective helps.
Matt Frei's Americana podcast on the BBC is yet another enjoyable (foreigner's) perspective on American society, culture and politics.
Then there's FiveThirtyEight, Nate Silver's New York Times blog which is very good on the numbers (he's a baseball fan). Silver is presumably American, although I am not sure if he has made his birth certificate available for public inspection.
Any other suggestions for insightful/enjoyable/unmissable outlets on American politics - please email or post.
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