Prince William has confirmed he will marry Kate Middleton next year

[phipps]

I wonder if we will get a Bank Holiday for it.

I had a quick look at her family web site, she has done some lovely photography on there... I doubt she will be using her family web site wedding invites

I had to laugh at Janet Street Porter's comments on 'This Week' - she said that when it comes to the royal family most usually normal people lose about 50% of their brain

I'm pleased. Because I am going to make some money out of it. Bwahahahahaha!

Ooh, sounds intriguing SGB!

When I said "we could do with a royal wedding in Ireland to cheer us up" I was of course being flippant - given the news breaking in Ireland on the same day: banking crisis and two families devastated by fathers murdering their children, your news of a wedding hardly seems something to grumble about. And as for the people who lost their lives etc., in our history well having grown up in the north I hardly need to be reminded of that, but I would hope we have moved on mentally from that. The whole point of my post was based on breaking news here as compared to UK on same day.

Electra: I make badges, keyrings etc. I envisage a fair bit of demand for 'souvenirs' along the lines of 'Bollocks to the lot of it'.

I liked edam's point about the role of the monarchy being to make sure the prime ministers don't get too big for their boots. I'd rather have a Queen than a President who thinks he's a king because of all the power he's got.
I mean look at Tony Blair; he behaved as though he was royalty trying to keep up with the Bush's, swanning here there and everywhere.

Yes, but at least a president is elected, is accountable, doesn't cost as much and we can get rid of the ones we don't like after a few years (although fortunately for them not via the block as in years gone by!)

not really elected democratically are they though...they keep it in the family as much as our Royals do. Out of ALL the citizens in the U.S I find it hard to believe that the best man for the job was George Bush Junior

Did you know that the Royal family have been enjoying their aged but elegant SuperYacht on the French Riviera for some time now.

www.sail-world.com/Europe/My-kind-of-superyacht---the-Madiz-is-for-sale/66519

I wish them the very best - but she is very dull in so many ways. Maybe that is what you need to be to succeed in the Royal Family of Britain.

Lets watch and see.

More democratically elected than a royal family

yes, but the royal family have got no power to speak of. THe prime minister is elected and has a lot less power than a president, helped by the fact the ROyal family tempers omnimpotent tendencies and ability of the media to create a personality cult.
THe U.S president OTOH is near-omnipotent, and is not even democratically elected

Does anyone else think she looks just like Linda Lusardi?

Depends how you define power. I would argue that they are incredibly powerful and influencial.

Chunky - she does!!

Sakura, the president is in no way a person of great unchecked power. I don't know where you got that idea, but it's not surprising if you are not a citizen who has lived there for any length of time.

The 'founding fathers' of the nation created the three-part system (President, Congress, judiciary) and elected two-chamber Congress in large part with the flaws they saw in the British system (as they were a colony) in mind (no written Constitution being another thing they saw as a huge flaw) (the other was citizenship. They made it automatic because, as colonials, they were in many instances denied full British nationality, despite paying British taxes).

Bush was democratically elected, at least to his second term. He had a Republican Congrss, and this made it easier for his decisions to be approved, but Congress also staggers its elections so they happen every 2 years in turns, so there's always scope for power to shift.

The President, his office and all Congress have full disclosure rules, too, regarding their expenses and bills they charge to the taxpayer, and budgets.

It's not a perfect system, but it works for them.

George Washington was actually offered a kingship. He declined and worked with Congress on the new system, including the tradition that the President is addressed as 'Mr President', not Lord or Sir or any of that crap.

Eeek - influential even

'The U.S president OTOH is near-omnipotent, and is not even democratically elected'

LOL! Tell Obama that! He was democratically elected by a healthy enough margin. Congress, however, as a result of a round of elections last month, is now majority Republican, the opposing party.

This will make it very difficult for him to achieve his and his party's aims over the next two years.

But the voter turnout was excellent. That's how people voted.

I may not agree, but it is democratic as it can be.

Sorry, those elections were earlier this month.

Elections there for Congressional seats and the Presidency are always on a Tuesday in November.

US Presidents run on a party ticket, but they are elected in their own right, instead of the party being elected into power.

What can and does happen is that on the same day as the Presidential elections, a number of seats in Congress come up for election, and it can and does happen that both the President and the majority of seats in Congress are of the same party.

But again, elections are staggered in both houses so they keep happening every 2 years.

The country, of course, also uses proportional representation.

It's not error-free, of course, gerrymandering is one flaw.

US presidents can serve a maximum of 2 4-year terms. That's it.

This became law after Franklin D. Roosevelt, who served 4 terms and felt it was unhealthy from a power-perspective.

Yeah! Everything that they said! :o

Besides the Bushes we don't really "keep it in the family", at least as far as Presidents go. Certainly there are political families (the Kennedys, etc.) Most people I know don't even toe the party line. I have always voted Democrat, but I can't necessarily say I always would.

But how on earth do you explain the fact that a father and then his son became president?

I don't think she comes across as dull, just a bit more grown up and calmer, which has to be a good thing, considering the situations the more lively wives of Windsor got themselves into in the past.

Plus her mum isn't a bolter, which is bound to help the situation, as I doubt she's as psychologically damaged as DS and SF.

I also like the fact that they met at university, as the (comparatively) enhanced brain power of this one is likely to refresh the gene pool helpfully.

I just hope they manage to stay married and to have some sort of happy private life at points, so it's not too much of a pressure cooker for them. Which is why I think a bit more being seen out and about doing boring things like their own food shopping in Waitrose on the Kings Road, and Dutch-style cycling is necessary - to render themselves slightly less interesting and consequently less prone to criticism.

Some of the Edwardian lifestyle nonsense has to go at the edges, as I keep saying.

I also think they should do a Cameron and look at state schooling for a bit, at least at primary stage. That would be a fabulous normality coup for them without too much associated grief.

' But how on earth do you explain the fact that a father and then his son became president? '

What's to explain? Any native-born (or born abroad to parents who are both US citizens) US citizen age 35 or over may run for president.

So, Bush senior ran for president. He was elected. Then, a candidate from the opposing party was elected. Then, Bush junior decided to run. Then he ran again. Now, he can't be president anymore.

That's how it works. US national, native born or born abroad to two US national parents and age 35 or over? You can run. If you're elected, you get in.

There's no law saying, 'Oh, your uncle was president, so you can't run.'

Oh, btw, a President can be removed from office by Congress, who can also override his vetos.

In practice, this probably won't occur if the President is of the same party as the majority of seats in Congress, but again, elections for Congressional seats happen every 2 years, so there is always scope for power shift.