The holidays are over - and I find myself in sunny Manchester (no kidding, it's a beautiful sunny, 'refreshing' day in the city. The Annual Conference of the American Politics Group is about to begin. As ever, there are a number of interesting papers to be presented and discussed. The nice thing about APG is that it encompasses a number of disciplines - with of course politics and history being well represented - but lawyers and economists are also here. (I'm a law and political science specialist myself, with a passion for history. Economics well! as Leo said on the Wing West Wing - Economists were put on the earth to make astrologers look good).
We are staying at the Midland Hotel - which is a delight. I normally only spend time at fringe meetings here during party conferences - and this is the place where the top people stay (I go for the cheapest place I can lay my head, for the few hours we get to rest during party conference). Thankfully we got an affordable deal! I'll be posting during the conference - I'm just off to registration & to meet old friends; At 6pm Professor Andrew Rudalevige is giving the keynote address on "The Obama Presidency and Congress: From Glory to Deadlock" - then we have the Conference Dinner.
