Two things from the papers this morning that I thought might interest you.
The Obama campaign has published behind the scenes photos of the Obama family on election night - Flikr seems to be struggling to keep up with demand to see them, but if you refresh a few times they should appear!
And Salon has this very interesting article by Michael Lind tracing a pattern of governmental growth and backlash throughout American history. He divides this history into three "Republics", each lasting approximately 72 years, and each divided in half, with growth in the role of the state followed by determined contraction. He sees the fourth republic as having begun with Bush's re-election in 2004 (without much justification), but admits that Obama will be remembered as the first president of the new era.
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Hmmm looks a bit too deterministic to me - what about the scope for personality and leadership? NB Gordon Brown did well in Glenrothes - maybe it was the Obama effect.
Historians love dividing time into periods. Another distinguishes five "party systems" in America, the last starting in 1933 with the accession of F.D.R. Anyway, it certainly feels as though something new and big started on Tuesday night. What do you think of Rahm Emanuel as White House Chief of Staff though? That looks like a return to the Clinton years.
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