Of those interviewed, 44% backed the designated days policy, in comparison to 35% wanting the union flag raised throughout the year.

BBC: Opinion poll indicates NI voters would reject Irish unity

Yet according to Gregory Rodriguez, of the Pepperdine Institute for Public Policy, the most appropriate historical comparison is not with the confrontational politics of the 1960s, which sprang out of the squashing of racial minorities.

ECONOMIST: A lesson in how to count

By comparison, dodging foreign-policy issues is easy and electorally painless.

ECONOMIST: Suddenly, a pre-primary electability indicator

Mr Bajaj draws a comparison between the company's policy now and before 1991.

ECONOMIST: Few hands make work light

Many worry that partisanship in the U.S. leads to policy paralysis, but political disagreement here pales in comparison to the European Union, which has 27 member states whose political landscapes feature far more parties than the two-party system in the U.S. The U.S. also possesses a single jurisdictional political entity that allows it to enforce a common fiscal and monetary policy across all of its parts.

FORBES: The United States Need Not Become Europe

This mundane comparison is but a tiny reflection of the far more momentous policy agenda and management effectiveness of Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels.

FORBES: Mitch Daniels Saved Indiana. Is America Next?

When those lobbyists discuss what they fear most, increased stateside competition from our Big Three automakers pales in comparison to what the collapse of GM, Ford Motor or Chrysler might mean in terms of bad policy.

FORBES: Magazine Article