Free Speech Is Expensive But It’s Free

Simon Heffer is very good on grammar, Thomas Carlyle and, most importantly, cricket. And much more besides. But even Mr Heffer is not immune to the unfortunate Laws of Punditry, one of which insists that while writing something in one time zone something will happen in another which rebuts one’s argument all too convincingly. So his suggestion that Hillary Clinton might challenge Barack Obama for the Democratic party’s presidential nomination in 2012 is somewhat confounded by the Secretary of State’s declaration, during a visit to New Zealand, that she has no intention of doing so, nor of ever running for President again.

Of course, she may be lying! Or events may force her hand. Nevertheless, I hazard that the only circumstances in which Hillary runs again are those in which there’s a vacancy. Which means Barack Obama has to die before she can or would run again.

I was also struck by Mr Heffer’s analysis