BRITAIN

BRITAIN
The Times, London, Sept. 1: Foreign policy and national security are major themes in this year's presidential contest. This does not mean that domestic issues have been marginalized. They are fundamental to millions of voters. With that in mind, both parties have attacked the other for their allegedly "extreme" agendas.
At the philosophical level, Republicans and Democrats do appear to hold polarized views on the proper role of government. In practice, however, the differences between them are more modest.
Contract with America
It is the Republicans who have shifted toward the middle ground over the past decade. Ten years ago, led by Newt Gingrich, that party gained control of the House of Representatives on a manifesto entitled Contract With America. Mr. Gingrich spoke in almost revolutionary terms about how his party would dismantle the federal government, once in Washington.
George W. Bush, by contrast, has hardly been a revolutionary figure in domestic politics.
If re-elected, Mr. Bush will have to recognize that he cannot cut taxes, boost spending on national security and concede popular demands for social expenditure forever. He will have to make choices, as will Mr. Kerry if he defeats him. This ballot appears, at times almost exclusively, rooted in foreign and security policy, but it will have plenty of domestic consequences.
NORWAY
Dagsavisen, Oslo, Aug. 30: President George W. Bush is riding a wave of support that to an extent was created by a smear campaign without comparison even in American politics. An opinion poll for the first time this year gives Bush a slight lead on his Democratic challenger John Kerry.
The campaign ... has been absolutely negative. The Bush campaign has focused exclusively on John Kerry's supposed lack of strong leadership.
It is noteworthy that an administration that has run the country for four years can barely manage to show off any of its own successes.
Vietnam War
The campaign in recent weeks has been about war. Unbelievably, not the war in Iraq, with almost daily reports of fallen American soldiers and missiles raining down on Iraqi civilians. ... Instead, the debate is about a war that ended 29 years ago in Vietnam. A debate built completely on false claims about John Kerry.
That such things work is an extremely serious defeat for American democracy.
ARGENTINA
Buenos Aires Herald, Aug. 30: Six medals (including two gold medals) was the best haul since the London Olympics of 1948, yet those media fostering the illusion of serious medal chances in, say, pole-vaulting or cycling have left many Argentines with a sense of failure. The achievement is all the more impressive given that Argentina comes from one of the worlds weakest athletic regions ... and that the overall tendency in Athens was for the middle Olympic powers (especially East Asian and European) to gain at the expense of both great and small -- 127 of the 202 nations taking part did not win a medal at all.
Aimless policies
Unfortunately, this could be as good as it gets because organization, funds and infrastructure are all sorely lacking. ... The merely aimless policies of the government sports department shine by comparison with the scandals rocking the volleyball federation (expelled by the international federation) ... . As for funds, budgetary constraints have been compounded since 2002 by a devaluation making it much harder for athletes to compete abroad against world-class competition. ... Finally, infrastructure -- every country winning 20 or more medals has a network of athletic clubs and swimming-pools in every community. The former hardly exist in Argentina while the many pools are rarely seen as watering future Olympic medals.
And so to Beijing 2008. Perhaps no Olympics since Berlin in 1936 will be more prepared for a host triumph. We should also be ready.