But his reputation for honesty in the supervisor's job, and his promise of more open decision-making, won him support from a broader range of voters who suspected that too many favours were being swapped behind closed doors between the Brown administration and its friends in business.

ECONOMIST: The San Francisco mayor��s race

The irony of the evident distancing from Britain by the Obama administration is that Brown's government is pursuing policies that Barack Obama seemingly espouses.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Farewell to Britain

In consequence, the applause was muted when, in his second inaugural speech, Brown bragged that his administration was building an artificial river down the spine of the state and mightily expanding the greatest system of public colleges and universities in the world.

ECONOMIST: American politics