Blason de l’Évangile 1999
On a weekend when Obama is charming Europe and Gordon Brown is being pummelled on the ropes of a certain Glasgow by-election, my thoughts have turned to politics.
Most people’s political maturity curve starts as a radical teenager, transcends into a left wing twentysomething and then slowly but surely keeps bending to the right. Money and the confidence of age surely plays a part. So why do I seem to be moving in the opposite direction?
A Conservative supporter from early age, I actually thought that Tony “45 minutes” Blair was a decent Prime Minister, even with the benefit of hindsight, but I guess that is an easy choice when the incumbent is Gordon “yawn” Brown. Maybe there is something else at play here. Can you tell the difference between Conservative and Labour; Republican and Democrat? There is no longer a discernable difference in policies.  It is more about charisma and personality than fundamental line.
Gordon Brown has no vision. His idea of a world-changing policy initiative is to introduce some imperceptible change to the statute book that will make it marginally less likely for a teenager to carry a knife. He will shortly be replaced.
In the US, George “W is for war” Bush will also be replaced, and the decision there is much more important, especially to those of us in the rest of the world. Imagine Senator John “Country First” McCain as next US President. Not so much lacking vision, but having an ego-centric, US-centric vision more akin to the 1960’s than today. We don’t need another Bay of Pigs Invasion, even if the “pigs” are Persian this time. Barack “Change we can believe in” Obama on the other hand truly understands world affairs and the critical role America plays. It’s not his background, his skin colour, or his slightly awkward demeanour that makes him so attractive, it is simply his vision and understanding of the world stage. He even has a passport – no wonder most of the rest of the world, including me, is willing a speedy end to the Bush era and hoping McCain tanks.
Appropriately, this wine came from Sunday Times Wine Club’s President’s Cellar. Blason de l’Évangile 1999 is the second wine of Château l’Évangile (a Rothschild owned estate).
I thought it tasted of mashed fruit and something green – courgette? Green pepper? Leaves? It warmed up to toffee apples. As a bottle of wine it was very appealing but at over £25 a bottle I think I deserve a little more and there we come onto the quality/price/value conundrum.
If Barack fails to win, it probably won’t matter either way. American readers, please vote Obama to improve the rest of the world. It’s not just about you.
July 27th, 2008 at 7:25 am
Hello,
I hope all is well with you. I have enjoyed reading your blog and find it to be very informative.
I started my own blog which focuses on traveling in the California wine countries:
http://erikwait.blogspot.com/
I have also put together pictures I have taken over the past few years of various wineries, vineyards at my “Adventures in Wine Tasting” Photography Youtube site at:
http://www.youtube.com/user/erikwait
Grace & Peace,
Erik Wait
July 27th, 2008 at 11:58 am
I too started out very much on the right when I was younger, but the ‘conservative’ movement in the U.S. was kidnapped by the ‘evangelical’ right. That forced me to the center, and continues to push me left.
Here’s one vote in the U.S. for Obama coming from a demogrpahic that is supposed to be McCain friendly.. Now if I can just find a few more
July 27th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
My dear sir!
No, thank you, I will not vote for His divine Majesty, Lord Obama, God, saint, Messiah, and King. May I hazard a prediction? I don’t think the rest of the country will, either. My worry is what will happen when we, the unwashed, vote against clear and repeated instructions.
Cheers.
July 27th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
It is hard to follow from the UK but I did read an interesting piece in the UK Sunday Times today that alerted me to the press bias towards Obama. He is followed by an entourage of journalists whereas McCain is apparently sufffering almost a media blackout.
Being press friendly is part of politics, of course, but it would be a shame if that backfired on Obama because the public fears conspiracy. I hope there is a failry level playing field and both sides have a roughly equal (albeit way too big) campaign budget as well as equal access to the media. I still hope Barack makes it though.
December 1st, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Why repeat the hackneyed line about people bending to the right with age . . . or is it senility? The problem with America is that it is essentially a right wing country. No one has ever had the moral courage . . . make that ethics . . . I hate the word moral which the weak-minded hide behind because there is nothing moral or ethical about them . . . to govern from the left.
BTW, the Republicans were slated to lose and chose the “empty suit,” sarah palin to run with and against the latent popularity of the bumbling John McCain.