fpb | Does he play the horses?

I love liberty. The opening words of the Declaration of Independence rank, in my mind, one step only below the Gospel. I think the most fortunate men in history were those who fought for liberty and won - in 490 and 480BC, in 1402, in 1783, in 1859 and 1860, in 1940. The sight of the long queues of proud Iraqis defying threats of death to vote in their millions, believe me, brought tears to my eyes. I hope you believe, therefore, that what I have to say is not meant to demean their courage.

But you have to admit that George W. Bush is the luckiest man in the world. It is quite clear that the elections were scheduled in January to take place after his own presidential election, in case they went wrong. Clearly even he and his advisers were not certain that their gamble on an early election would succeed. But it succeeded in the grand fashion, in the eyes of all the world. Once again, George W. Bush's opponents have been made to look silly, and he has appeared for his State of the Union speech with his stature undeniably increased. The man is so lucky that if I met him, I would ask for a tip on the three-thirty.