'Little Harry Reid Trailing in Her Wake'

Say your prayers

Let's hope in about 12 hours "Little Harry Reid" is not only trailing but conceding to Sharron Angle.

The crowd went wild when Michelle Obama swept into a high-school gymnasium in Las Vegas yesterday morning, with little Harry Reid trailing in her wake and a local Mariachi band, in full dress uniform, entertaining the crowd. But behind the flag waving and anthem-singing, and the sunny optimism of a typical American election rally, there was a palpable sense of unease.

Two years ago, at the height of Obamania, the First Lady was a sort of rock-star; with a following wind, she could fill an outdoor stadium. Today, her stock has fallen. A few hundred people did turn out to hear her speech, but there were swathes of seats left empty at the back, and plenty of standing room around the stage. Ticker tape was conspicuous by its absence.

Mrs Obama’s message, on the eve of a mid-term election that will define the last two years of her husband’s first term as President meanwhile wasn’t so much Yes We Can as Hopefully We Might.

Maybe there'd have been more confetti but she used it up on her vacation budget.