Back to Gideon RachmanAs the US presidential election nears, so the game of “pick the next administration” will grow in popularity. I have been indulging in a little speculation of my own, elsewhere.
In London, the local interest centres around the question of who will be the next US ambassador to Britain. If Obama wins, the guessing-game centres around Caroline Kennedy - a prominent Obama supporter, who spoke at the Democratic convention in Denver. This would be an interesting appointment, given that the last Kennedy to serve as US ambassador to Britain - Joe Kennedy - did not exactly cover himself in glory. He was forced to resign in 1940 after injudiciously suggesting that “democracy is finished in England”.
But there is also a far more interesting name doing the rounds than Caroline Kennedy - Oprah Winfrey. This is a bona fide rumour, put about by “well-placed sources”. The argument is that Oprah is also a prominent supporter of Obama and that she might be looking for a “change of direction” - having got bored with her mega-star status.
It sounds ridiculous. It probably is ridiculous. But she would certainly cause a stir.
This blog covers a variety of topics from US foreign policy to European politics and the Middle East - and whatever else happens to be in the news or catch my attention. I joined the FT as chief foreign affairs commentator in 2006, after a 15-year career at The Economist which included stints as a correspondent in Brussels, Bangkok and Washington. I write a weekly column on foreign affairs, which appears in the paper on Tuesdays. Occasionally my FT colleagues contribute posts to this blog.
