Davos 07: yesterday's man
Most people seem to think that George Bush's time in office is a mistake the world would do best to forget.
George Bush might have just given his state of the union address but here in Davos he's definitely a lame duck.
One clue lies in the fact that no senior figures from the US administration are coming. In other circumstances that might be thought a snub to a meeting which aims to gather the world's most powerful business and political leaders. But now it is just a recognition of reality. Power is shifting elsewhere and the conference organisers seem happy to acknowledge it.
There's still lots of interest in the US, of course. Hillary Clinton, I am promised, isn't coming - though don't rule out a surprise. Her husband loves the place. The conference tried to persuade Barack Obama to show up, but he, too, is apparently too deep in his campaign on the otherside of the Atlantic to find the time. Maybe next year?
Still, John Kerry is coming and so is John McCain, who's routinely described as the Republican frontrunner.
In the meantime, most people here seem to think of President Bush's time in office as a mistake the world would do best to forget. There was even a small cheer at a session just now when a senior US business leader pointed out, with a smile, that he'll be gone in two years. Amen to that.
Chief leader writer of the Guardian since 2006, Julian Glover launched the Guardian Unlimited Politics website ahead of the 2001 general election, before joining the paper's news desk. He moved to report from Westminster in 2005. He worked with John Major on the former prime minister's autobiography and at the Economist and on several BBC Radio documentaries.
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