TWO CHEERS for Dubya! That was my reaction at seeing BBC pictures of jubilant Iraqis lining up to cast their ballots last Sunday. For George W. Bush has steadfastly maintained that ­ as the old pop song goes. ­

'All the world over, so easy to see. People everywhere just wanna be free. Ask me my opinion, my opinion will be. Nat'ral situation for a man to be free'.

“Osama wins it for Dubya” is how many sum up George Bush’s victory in the US presidential election. And there’s some truth to this. In the days before Osama Bin Laden appeared live and well on video, John Kerry was surging in the polls and in the betting markets. After Osama’s appearance the money shifted sharply to Bush, and once again the London bookies had it right.

"A MAN with one watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never sure." This pretty much sums up the wildly gyrating polls in the 2004 U.S. presidential race.

America is the richest country on earth, but its democracy is an ugly mess. To quote the September 24^th Economist - “If democracy means multi-party competition at the grass roots, America is not a full democracy in elections to the House of Representatives”.

IN 1980, the homicide rate in the United States reached an all time high of 10.7 per 100,000, having doubled in 15 years.

There was much 'woe is us' hand wringing. Could nothing be done to stem this seemingly inexorable rise?

WHEN RONALD Reagan was elected President of the United States I was stunned. How could Americans prefer this bumbling moron to the brilliantly eloquent Jimmy Carter?

Only an arrogant neo-imperialist too senile to understand that all societies develop in their own way could call the Soviet Union an 'evil empire'. The thought of such a simpleton with his hand on the nuclear button made me shudder.

IF YOU judge countries by how many people want to visit and stay, America must be the best place in the world to live. There are huge line-ups at the U.S. embassy in every country, and even Castro's anti-American rhetoric doesn't stop Cubans from risking their lives to reach American shores.

ALAS POOR Haiti - seemingly condemned to perpetual instability and on the verge of an ecological disaster. And there's little the outside world can do. Talk about CARICOM 'helping out' in the present crisis is nonsense. As if our tiny armies could make any difference in a country with a bigger population than the entire English speaking Caribbean put together.

Maybe it’s his supercilious smirk. Or his arrogant mumbling. Or his cynical opportunism. Whatever the reason I find it hard to admire George W. Bush. His reckless adventuring abroad and his irresponsible overspending at home are in my view seriously damaging his country’s long term interests. When America sneezes most of the world catches a cold, and highly economically dependent countries like Jamaica get pneumonia. So the man is just plain bad news all around.

“Jamaica in Crisis” read a conference banner in Mandeville last month. “A Sick Democracy” was one pundit’s verdict on the local government elections. And “A ruined country” is the constant theme of some radio talk shows.