The Londoner

LIANGJIAHE, China — If every modern president needs a creation myth, then Xi Jinping's begins on the dusty loess plateau of northwest China. It was here that Xi spent seven formative years, working among the peasants and living in a lice-infested cave dug into the silty clay that extends around the Yellow River. Gradually, the selfless peasants and the unforgiving "Yellow Earth" -- a term for China's land that symbolizes relentless toil and noble sacrifice -- transformed this pale, skinny, and nervous-looking teenager into the man who in November will take control of the world's second-most powerful country. "When I arrived at the Yellow Earth, at 15, I was anxious and confused," wrote Xi in 1998, by which time he was working his way to the top of the CommunistParty hierarchy in the prosperous coastal province of Fujian.  "When I left the Yellow Earth, at 22, my life goals were firm and I was filled with confidence." When Xi desc...

The neoconservatives who rebuffed the Republican establishment’s warnings about the perils of war in Iraq have now opened another front —against President Barack Obama . The neocons, unlike the muscular Democrats who led the U.S. into the Vietnam War —including Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and Secretary of State Dean Rusk — are not reflecting about what went wrong in Iraq. Nor are they dodging the public spotlight. They have instead signed on as foreign policy advisers for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney .  He is now strongly denouncing Obama as an abject failure, intent on appeasing the world’s dictators. Romney, who has scant foreign policy experience, is now championing a new “ American Century ,” featuring a pre-emptive foreign policy agenda, a $2-trillion increase in the Defense budget and, most likely, hostilities with Iran — not to mention skirmishes with China and Russia. Ever since these once hawkish centrist Democrats denounced Presid...

After a fairly successful Tory conference , which ended 11 days ago with a well-received speech by David Cameron , it had looked as though the Prime Minister was turning a corner. Then No 10 walked into one of its worst weeks since Mr Cameron came to power. Across a range of fronts the Government found itself on the defensive. Even when there was potentially better news for the Government, such as Home Secretary Theresa May ’s decision not to bow to American pressure to extradite the computer hacker Gary McKinnon to the United States, it was soon overshadowed by other damaging rows. How did the week unfold and what might Mr Cameron do to get on track? European row Facing calls for a referendum, Mr Cameron sought to provide some clarity on his European policy. Eurozone leaders are edging towards closer integration, for which there is little British support. But Mr Cameron says that while he wants, eventually, t...

It is alarming to read the campaign advice that Marcus Tullius Cicero , the great Roman orator, received. Cicero was encouraged to inflame his opponents with scandals, pay special attention to the wealthy and powerful, keep up the hope of the zealous and devoted, put on good shows and “promise them anything” they want and forget about it. His successful campaign mirrors today’s political theater in America . But Cicero’s devotion to political maneuvering did not protect him (he was murdered by Mark Antony during his pursuit to become dictator of the country), nor the Roman republic . The sad story of the blunt calculating brilliance of Cicero and the fall of the great Republic should serve warn America: freedom and democracy are not free. America’s greatness was very much a function of the visionary pragmatism of its founding fathers. The common sense decision to pursue liberty, equality and individual well-being was achieved through creativity, openness and consensus...

The man with the wire-rim glasses and bushy beard, speaking calmly in American-accented English, is familiar from dozens of Web videos urging violent jihad against the United States. Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born radical cleric, during a sermon broadcast online. But in one astonishing clip, recorded more than a year before the man, Anwar al-Awlaki , was killed by a C.I.A. drone strike in Yemen , the American-born cleric had a very different mission: to propose marriage to a third wife. “This message is specifically for Sister Aminah,” Mr. Awlaki says in the video to his future bride , a comely 32-year-old blonde from Croatia who he hoped would join him in his fugitive existence. The woman had expressed fervent admiration for Mr. Awlaki on his Facebook page and later made clear in her own video reply that she shared his radical views, saying, “I am ready for dangerous things.” ...

Much has been said of Hillary Clinton (and little spared) during her two decades in the public eye. Now, as she prepares to step down as secretary of state, the most accomplished and, arguably, misunderstood woman in recent history insists she's done with public life for good. Ayelet Waldman joins Clinton on a tour of duty in Africa to find out if she means it. First lesson of traveling with Hillary Clinton: Her arrivals are always a mad dash, with a pool photographer and film crew tearing out of their press van to try to snatch an image of the secretary of state glad-handing a local dignitary before she's whisked inside, her aides and security detail rushing after her, the rest of the press corps in their wake. But in South Sudan the scrum is even more frantic than usual. The president of South Sudan is protect...

President Obama appeared on the Daily Show last night, and Jon Stewart confronted him with the “H” word. It’s not one that comes up much in Obama’s presence; I can’t remember the last time, in fact. But last night, he had to answer for HAMP. It came in a follow-up, actually, which shows the level of preparedness of the Daily Show staff, a few notches above, well, everyone in journalism. Obama started making his pitch for refinancing for underwater borrowers with non-GSE loans, a familiar topic. Refinancing has boomed due to low interest rates, and legislation is required to let underwater borrowers without Fannie and Freddie loans access it. Of course, then they will get the privilege of being ripped off on their lowered interest rate by their non-competitive lenders, who will reap big profits from the whole enterprise. But that’s a topic for another day. In response to this, Stewart simply sa...