The extra quality the USA brings to politics as to everything else is Motivation. That sense of mobilising can-do energy backed by wit and clarity.

Here is Arnold Schwarzenegger, in lively and effective form ("Obama needs some meat on his ideas"). Hard to imagine a similarly feisty speech by a UK politician; our leaders somehow seem to think that passion and conviction are a bit … vulgar?

My only criticism is his claim that Europe has realised the error of its ways and partly rolled back its ‘spread-the-wealth socialism’.

If only.