Presidential election in the US is conducted once in every four years. It is a great event that not just the Americans, but the whole world gets to witness. This excitement revolving round Presidential election has intensified in greater extent in the last few years. Quite naturally the 2012 election would receive all the more attention of people all over the world. And the question which is very frequently asked by many is why Sarah Palin should run in 2012 for the post of President? Today no one is unaware of this potential candidate called Sarah Palin who is likely to be bidding for the President’s post in 2012 elections.

This speculation of why Sarah Palin should run in 2012 started when Sarah Palin declared her presidential bid. Many people are supporting her decision to join the presidential race and are ready to cast their votes in her favor. In her 2008 election Sarah Palin was mostly criticized for her lack of adequate knowledge of international affairs. Realizing its importance for running the most powerful office in the world Sarah Palin is now regularly taking aid of a group of Washington advisors on both foreign and domestic policy. She has also been trying to enlarge her focus which would prove to be of great help to American political life if she manages to win this Presidential race.

A great thing about this lady is that she is capable of securing strong opinions either way. Often the media and the public have considered Sarah Palin as a rogue, a populist and unpredictable but again there are many who feel she should definitely go ahead with the presidential election. Since the time she has declared that she is open to the presidential bid in 2012 many have said that truly deserves to win the race in 2012.

So we wait to see just what she will do in the next two years. Hopefully, if she truly decides to run, that she is ready for the challenge.

I have just updated the text on the homepage for kerosene heating oil, I know that it might surprise you that I am working for an oil company; but I don’t think they are as environmentally unfriendly as I once concluded. Plus, I’ve sold out, I need the money!

President Obama came out fighting in his first State of the Union address, defending his economic record and insisting that change will take place, he also refused to shelve the controversial plans for healthcare reform but it is clear that employment will be given a higher priority than healthcare in the coming year.

The President was given the traditional warm welcome from all sides of Congress and his measured and well delivered speech received several standing ovations. The energetic triumphalism of the President’s speeches after his inauguration however had been replaced by a more sombre and statesmanlike speech.

Opening the address the President said that we as a nation "had to answer history’s call" and he soon made it clear how he aimed to achieve this: "People are out of work, they are hurting, they need our help. Jobs must be our number one focus ion 2010."

The President made it clear that he expected a jobs bill on his desk without any delay, and urged the Senate to make it their number one priority at the start of this year. This demand for immediate results brings to mind the President’s promises for swift change when he took power, and mindful of this President Obama admitted that change had not come as quickly as had been anticipated. He did however promise that he would carry through the pledges that he has made to the electorate.

Some analysts had expected the President to announce that the healthcare reforms would be shelved altogether but President Obama insists that he "will not walk away from these Americans who are losing their insurance, and neither should the people in this chamber." Nevertheless, there was less emphasis on these reforms than there was throughout 2009 and the announcement of a budget freeze from 2011 makes it unlikely that the wholesale reforms originally planned will now be able to take place.

President Obama also defended his controversial bank bailouts, insisting that if he had not intervened then more homes and business would have been lost and unemployment could have been twice as high as it is now.

In a defiantly rousing end to his busy speech, President Obama said: "We don’t quit. I don’t quit. Let’s seize this moment - to start anew, to carry the dream forward and strengthen our union once more."

Initial reaction to President Obama’s speech has been decidedly mixed. I am pleased to see the President place a greater emphasis on returning people to work, and am happy to see less emphasis being placed upon his highly flawed healthcare plans. The President has admitted that "the devastation continues" for a large number of his countrymen and twelve months into his Presidency this is a damning indictment. What is not in doubt is that President Obama is a powerful public speaker, a charismatic and captivating man. If he does not deliver on his promises this year however, then our love affair with the President could be prematurely brought to an end.

Some exciting news before I run, I was speaking to my cousin last night and he has just got a amazing new role at an hr software company. Well done Edward

It’s not that I’m any more interested in US politics than I am in UK politics, but more that I’m tired of the continued press obsession with reporting every little detail of the party candidates – I think I know more about Obama and Clinton than I know about any of the UK political party leaders, and more importantly I’m getting very scared about the rate at which the US economy continues to devalue the dollar.

For most people, the dollar devaluation is a good thing – this is a great time for Brits to visit the US because we’re getting a lot of dollars for our pound sterling (just remember folks, that you don’t get more baggage allowance on the airlines so having more to spend doesn’t mean you can necessarily buy more goods to bring back!). A holiday in the US is going to cost a lot less this summer than it has for many, many years and so anyone with a US trip in the pipework should be celebrating. Then there are those like me who are paid in US dollars which means that we are converting money from dollars into pounds and it’s taking more cents to make a pound these days. This will be the same for anyone who has shares or other investment in the US market – unless of course they can afford to wait it out. On the other hand if your buying in dollars, like the seo london company I work with sometimes, you suddenly are getting everythinig cheaper. I never understood how currency in one country affected the economy in another country until now. It’s quite scary!

This is a good time to invest in the US. While our own property prices are falling, the US property prices are also falling, but when you convert strong pounds into weak dollars, you’re going to get a lot more for your money than you would even this time last year. It is a good time to go to the USA, to buy property in the US, to go and have hair loss treatment there. Of course it’s going to take some time to see a return on any investment you make, even once the US election is settled and a new president sits in the White House, but over time the dollar should start to resurrect itself and the US economy get back onto its feet allowing you to hopefully cash in on investments made now. For others like me however who are reliant on a steady cashflow of dollars to pay the bills, our finances are as weak as the US currency!

The democrats are locked in tough battle, but not with the republicans this time. Instead they are fighting amongst themselves trying to suppress the health care reform bill that they originally crafted.

Many Senate and House seats will be up for grabs this November. The door is wide open for either side to walk in. The Republicans will be hot on their heels, trying to tarnish the bill and finding a way of compressing everything that the democrats have done so far. For now thought it all lies with the Democrats. They have a big job on their hands, their attitude over the next few months will say a lot about them.

Unfortunately for the Democrats they have taken nine months to write the health care bill, and walking away from it after so long is not what federal politics is all about. If they do not proceed with the bill there could be severe consequences. It would show their weakness and could be a direct statement that they are wrong and the republicans are right, this is not how it is suppose to work in politics .

Single-Payer health care made available to every American is essential for progress, this is a view affirmed by many. This bill was initially designed to get America there and this has been made clear by the Democrats. So why stop here, the best thing for the democrats would be to move forward with and pass the health care reforms. The democrats will be judged on this, and people will remember this for a very long time. It looks very simple, get the bill through and floor the opposition.

It is all in the hands of the democrats now. Victory or defeat is theirs to choose. The fact that the Republicans do not have the numbers put the choice in the hands of the democrats. For us it is a watching game and who knows how the game will end.

As the Iraq enquiry continues in Great Smith Street the political big hitters are finally facing the public questioning. Controversy has been growing however about the non-appearance of Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

At the start of the enquiry its chairman, Sir John Chilcott, stated that the enquiry would stay firmly away from the arena of party politics and that hearings would not be held in the run up to a General Election. Last year the enquiry committee confirmed that neither Mr Brown nor any of his current cabinet would be called to give evidence prior to the election.

This stance, intented to ensure that the enquiry remained politically neutral, has instead proved to be politically divisive, with the Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Scottish Nationalist parties all condemning the ruling. The leader of the SNP in Westminster, Angus Robertson MP, was particularly hard hitting in his condemnation, claiming that Gordon Brown had much to answer for as he had agreed to “an illegal and immoral invasion” but had not provided troops with the resources and equipment that they needed.

At first it seemed that Mr Brown was happy to wait until after the election to appear before the enquiry. With his personal popularity at a nadir and a struggle to pull back the Conservative Party lead in the opinion polls the last thing that he wanted to do, with the election looming ever closer, was to remind the public of his vital role in the unpopular war in Iraq. Mr Brown seems to have cultivated the idea that then PM Tony Blair had been the prime mover behind the decision to go to war but recent evidence to the enquiry seems to implicate Brown in a way that a jittery Labour Party will find disquieting.

The recent evidence given by two very high profile figures, former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and spin doctor-in-chief Alistair Campbell, has planted Gordon Brown firmly at the front of the decision making process and the upcoming appearance of former Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith may prove to be equally problematic for the PM. Former Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon, a staunch Blair supporter who recently called for Brown to step down as party leader, further sullied Brown’s reputation by stating to Chilcott that Brown, when Chancellor of the Exchequer, had for many years been responsible for the underfunding of the armed forces.

With pressure from all political sides, and with the public perception being that Brown is not appearing at the enquiry because he has something to hide, Gordon Brown has now written to the enquiry to state that he is happy to appear whenever the panel wanted. This surprise move has led to the enquiry committee stating that he will appear before them within two months.

Undoubtedly this is a damage limitation exercise on the Prime Minister’s part but with Tony Blair himself due to appear imminently the political heat is turning up, and the eyes of the world will be focused on Brown when he makes his feverishly anticipated appearance. Brown is never an assured and flowing public speaker and with his popularity showing no signs of recovery this could be a very risky strategy from Downing Street. We shall soon see whether this will be Gordon Brown’s finest hour or the final blow to his chances of being elected returning Prime Minister.

Final thing I have a little and rather surprising favor to ask you guys. A close friend of mine is employeed by a theatre and needs a set of shutters for this play that is beginning next month. If anyone has any for free please give me a call.

The laws in Britain are absolutely ridiculous. Back in the nineties there were supposed to be new laws introduced that would stop people from keeping vicious dogs; but still it goes on. The tragic tale of John Paul Massey is just the latest in a seemingly never ending list of horrendous attacks. Again and again there are children being mauled to death by dogs that are kept as macho status symbols.

Why are the British government not doing more to stop people from keeping animals like this in the first place? How many more children need to be killed in such an unimaginable manner before something is finally done??? It is completely disgusting that this has gone on for as long as it has.

Why anyone would want to keep something like a pit bull terrier as a ‘pet’ is beyond me. I think that to want one of these around, you need to have some type of ‘masculinity crisis’ going on. They are not exactly the sort of dog to curl up with in front of a coal fire, are they? Unfortunately there are some people who think that having one of these will make you look ‘hard’. As far as I’m concerned, when I see someone with one of these I think they are probably a bit dim.

What we need the government to do is bring in some very strict legislation that prevents people from keeping animals like this at all. And if someone is breaking the law by keeping or breeding them they should get a prison sentence. Oh, I touched on a bit of a nerve there… It seems that the government in our country are overly concerned about overcrowding in prisons . Well, there is a very simple answer to this; build plenty of new ones! This will also generate a lot of new jobs; the construction industry is one of the most badly affected areas in this recession.

Oops! Now I’ve really done it. The British government doesn’t want us to think that we are in a recession. They prefer to use phrases like; ‘economic downturn’, ‘cash crisis’ or ‘credit crunch’!

Final thing I promise, in my humble opinion all of you who are into this whole thought of a more planet friendly lifestyle really need to hit this link. Enigin Savings has some really innovative ideas for companies who are concerned about thier environmental impact, I am really respecting them right now.

I often feel that everyday life has become a constant struggle. Even the simplest of tasks are made so incredibly difficult by ‘the powers that be’.

Everywhere that we turn we are surrounded by bureaucracy and yards (whoops, that should be metres since we joined the EU) of red tape. Think about how complicated everything has become these days.

If you think that I am overreacting then let me tell you exactly what I mean. When was the last time that you tried to open a bank account? Believe me, it is no longer a simple matter of filling out a few forms… If you want to open one then you should be prepared for a lot of stress and hassle. You will be required to take all manner of documentation into the bank and be asked the most ridiculous questions.

Years ago it was so easy to open up a savings account. Children were encouraged to join a bank with the promise of free gifts and rewards. Those days are long gone.

If kids are not shown the importance of saving money then how are they going to learn the true value of things? Opening up a bank account should be something that anyone can do. Instead of this, it has become a huge battle to be able to save your own money.

Well I’ve spent all the left over cash on a pair of Asics running shoes for the run this weekend. You know it make sense, now we’re cooking!