Yet he cannot wriggle free of the traditional British predicament, wanting to lead and keep its distance from Europe at the same time.

ECONOMIST: Gordon Brown, the lonely chancellor

It is his department that will get the blame if we get fined yet he cannot force the agriculture department to do what he says.

BBC: Mussels in protection racket

Yet he cannot plead ignorance of the Senate's workings.

ECONOMIST: What Britain��s MPs might learn from Brazilian Senators

Yet he cannot expect help from the opposition.

ECONOMIST: Italy

He could be yet another transitory figure if he cannot.

BBC: Gatland's Irish question

El Shafee, 48, works as a pharmacist because he cannot yet make a living from his writing.

CNN: Egypt's banned graphic novel to be published in English

Yet, try as he may, Mr Mugabe cannot dismiss the new pressure on him merely as the vengeful work of former colonial powers or the machinations of western capitalists.

ECONOMIST: But Robert Mugabe, unyielding, goes his own way

Yet, although Mr Bush cannot ignore big steel, he need not lapse into protection.

ECONOMIST: Why protecting American steel is such a rotten idea

Yet, he must know this is a Faustian bargain that cannot work.

FORBES: The Federal Reserve's Crony Capitalism

"I cannot give you details on numbers as yet, " he said.

CNN: Bush, NATO focus on Iraq

Mr Tronchetti Provera says that he has clear ideas for reducing the debt, but cannot reveal them yet.

ECONOMIST: A risky move into telecoms has upset a lot of shareholders

Yet since Mr Blair is given to making speeches ruminating on the marvels of being British, he cannot ignore the subject of empire entirely.

ECONOMIST: The British empire

Yet working-class voters are dismayed that he now says the public finances are stretched and that he cannot do anything on wages.

ECONOMIST: France's government: The unpopular president | The

Yet he keeps fact and fantasy clear enough in his own head and, despite a sympathetic ear, cannot really hide the fact that this book is an extended visit to the epistemic zoo.

ECONOMIST: The other millennium bug

While a future Congress could, theoretically, bring the Accountable Care Act to an end, and while the Supreme Court may yet destroy part or all of the law before Perry needs to make good on a promise that he cannot possibly keep, the simple fact is that there is really no impact on the law that might result from such an executive order.

FORBES: Rick Perry Clueless On Use Of Executive Presidential Powers To Kill Obamacare

Yet, as Darren Rovell insightfully noted this week, Mr. Manziel cannot cash in on that brand until he turns pro.

FORBES: Johnny Manziel, Ed O'Bannon, and Image/Branding Rights of College Athletes