The bottom line, of course, is that the Conservatives got another 5-year mandate from British voters.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
There's no question that the U.S. is in a recession. And there's precious little talk about foreign policy in this year's primary season, despite historic changes in the world and America's role in it over the last several years.
In terms of policy, Bill Clinton, who calls for a more active government than Reagan and Bush have, sounds at least a little like Kinnock (though not as much as Joe Biden did in 1988).
George Bush, meanwhile, is playing Major's role, trying to convince the public that the economy is recovering and defending the status quo legacy of his more charismatic predecessor.
In terms of personality, Clinton has a flowering reputation as the "scandal-a-week" candidate. Bush, like Major, is dull but inoffensive.
And let's not forget that billionaire H. Ross Perot could play the third-party foil in November, perhaps skimming votes from Clinton and preventing him from winning majorities in key states.
THE CASE, of course, should not be overstated. At least not too much. There are important differences.
While Kinnock would have raised taxes on the middle class, Clinton offers tax cuts. And where Kinnock calls for expanding a nationalized health system, Clinton favors a much more conservative plan which would broaden employers' burdens for providing employee health care.
And while questions of Kinnock's judgement stemmed form past political blunders, Clinton's come from largely unsubstantiated allegations about improper personal behavior. (The British aren't as puritan as we are. When it came out last month that Paddy Ashdown, the liberal Democratic leader, had committed adultery, his popularity ratings actually swelled.)
But the similarities between the two 1992 elections are striking. That's unfortunate for American.
Because while the British have sent a lot of good things to this side of the Atlantic over the past 500 years, we should remember that they've sent some bad ones, too--like the Redcoats at Lexington, the war of 1812 and Canada, among other things.
And a precedent that calls for four more years of George Bush would certainly be one of the worst.