O P I N I O N S

EDITORIALS

Theatrical MPs
Errant members do not deserve mercy
THAT Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee is exasperated is well known. He has been venting his anger against those who disrupt the proceedings in the House. Early this week he described zero hour as a “torture hour” for the presiding officer. Seen against this backdrop, his decision to name 32 MPs, belonging to different political parties, for their indecorous behaviour in the House has not come as a surprise.

A disgrace!
Lowering standards is not education
THE year 2008 is being celebrated as the ‘Year of Education’ by the Haryana government. But there was a fly in the ointment. The pass percentage in the Class VIII examination conducted by the Haryana School Education Board was only about 45. So some bright babus in the Haryana Education Department found an ideal solution to paper over this dismal scene. They have awarded as many as 33 grace marks to the students. The result?

Apostle of amity
Nirmala Deshpande was a true Gandhian
WHETHER calling up Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to plead for Sarabjit Singh’s life or walking with Vinoba Bhave all those decades ago for the Bhoodan movement, Ms Nirmala Deshpande was the quintessential Gandhian. In her passing, the country has lost a moral force which answered to a higher calling, a rarity in political leaders and social activists these days.

• Thought for the day

ARTICLE

The real nuclear issue
Uranium shortage is acute
by K. Subrahmanyam
What is the crucial nuclear issue facing the country? It is not the strategic arsenal. The former National Security Adviser, Brajesh Mishra, one of the very few people who had access to classified information on it and who in fact formulated the policy is satisfied that our strategic programme will proceed on the lines formulated by the NDA government. It is not the issue of India’s right to test.

MIDDLE

Storm over a cup of tea
by Vepa Rao
When I moved into a Delhi colony several years ago, my immediate neighbours came in and introduced themselves. Both Kewal and Bhajram seemed the very picture of warmth and good manners. The types that hailed you from a distance, grabbed your palm, pumped it heartily and said very nice things about you.

OPED

Olympic tussle
Torch drama moves to Mount Everest
by Andrew Buncombe
William Holland was only thinking of the photograph. When he got to the top of Everest he planned to take the rolled-up flag saying “Free Tibet” from his rucksack, pose for posterity with the banner as a backdrop and then roll it away again before starting back down. He was not looking to make a scene.

Improve governance in Himachal
by N.K. Singh
A new government has taken over in Himachal Pradesh and it is time that changes are brought in to make administration people-friendly and remove delays in giving aid to the needy, to speed up disposal of grievances, and to create a lean and efficient bureaucracy.

Bill Clinton on a ‘Bubba’ tour for Hillary
by Leonard Doyle
Elkin, North Carolina – The moms and pops of this small town were in the local school gymnasium waiting for Bill Clinton to arrive. As is often the case the former president was running late, but the secret service agents, county sheriff and local police officers added a frisson of excitement for those waiting on the bleachers.

EDITORIALS

Theatrical MPs
Errant members do not deserve mercy

THAT Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee is exasperated is well known. He has been venting his anger against those who disrupt the proceedings in the House. Early this week he described zero hour as a “torture hour” for the presiding officer. Seen against this backdrop, his decision to name 32 MPs, belonging to different political parties, for their indecorous behaviour in the House has not come as a surprise. He has referred their case to the Privileges Committee of Parliament which is empowered to punish them. They have only themselves to blame for what has befallen them. After all they should have known that the Speaker has been repeatedly warning the members who disrupt the proceedings of the House of severest action. Just a few days ago he had to order switching off of power to prevent the live telecast of the proceedings of the House.

The assumption that the live telecast will induce the MPs to behave better has been proved wrong. In fact, some MPs seem to believe that if they indulge in theatrics like rushing to the well of the House, shouting slogans and not heeding the warnings of the Speaker, they will become heroes to their constituents. Many of the MPs have little understanding of how to conduct themselves in the House. Parliament provides the members a forum to air their grievances and take the government to task for its acts of omission and commission. But there are well-established rules and procedures to make themselves heard in the House. However, some of them find it easier to shout slogans against the government, instead of coming prepared with facts and figures to corner those on the treasury benches. They even consider it a prestige to belong to the shouting brigade.

It is this mindset that has to be broken. The present Lok Sabha had for the first time expelled some members who were involved in the cash-for-questions scam. It helped in instilling fear in the minds of the members that they could be punished for any action that caused disgrace to the august House. It is for the privileges committee to decide what punishment the 32 MPs should be given. In no case do they deserve mercy as their acts of indiscipline had caused the nation precious parliamentary time. Even if the committee finally dismisses the charge against them or gives them a minor punishment, the ultimate dispenser of justice in their case will be the electorate.

A disgrace!
Lowering standards is not education

THE year 2008 is being celebrated as the ‘Year of Education’ by the Haryana government. But there was a fly in the ointment. The pass percentage in the Class VIII examination conducted by the Haryana School Education Board was only about 45. So some bright babus in the Haryana Education Department found an ideal solution to paper over this dismal scene. They have awarded as many as 33 grace marks to the students. The result? The pass percentage has soared to an impressive 80. That doubling may appear to be quite creditable on paper but, in reality, it is nothing more than cheating. Instead of improving the standard of education, they have actually brought it down by pulling down the bar several notches. What that will mean is that many undeserving students who would not have otherwise made the grade are among those who clear the examination. The board has been particularly liberal in the subjects of English, mathematics and science.

And this is not true of the Class VIII examination alone. Even those who have appeared in Class X and XII examinations have been given grace marks liberally to kick them upstairs. If it is any consolation, they have been given only 16 and 10 extra marks respectively. Well, that is not grace but disgrace.

With the dilution of standards, the credibility of the certificates issued by the Haryana board will be compromised. There are many other boards in the country whose certificates evoke derisive laughter. Now Haryana has also made arrangements to enter that list of dishonour. Grace marks have been given in the past also, but this time the board has really gone overboard. What it was expected to provide was quality education. This would mean improving the quality of teaching and monitoring the functioning of schools. The department found it easier to lower the bar of quality to let more students pass. It is a recipe for disaster.

Apostle of amity
Nirmala Deshpande was a true Gandhian

WHETHER calling up Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to plead for Sarabjit Singh’s life or walking with Vinoba Bhave all those decades ago for the Bhoodan movement, Ms Nirmala Deshpande was the quintessential Gandhian. In her passing, the country has lost a moral force which answered to a higher calling, a rarity in political leaders and social activists these days. Her message of compassion and humanity and the power of non-violence to overcome the basest of primal instincts, resonated across borders. Many Pakistani leaders and activists held her in high esteem. The five-member delegation from Pakistan that attended the cremation included two ministers. Russia once conferred an ‘Order of Friendship’ on her.

Her peace marches in Punjab during its troubled days, in Jammu and Kashmir when militancy was at its peak, in Gujarat in the aftermath of Godhra, and in Orissa after the killing of Christian missionary Graham Steins, contributed to the healing of wounds. She strongly believed in a secular, pluralistic society living in harmony. Indo-Pak friendship was a particular concern for Ms Deshpande, who was nominated to the Rajya Sabha twice. Her ‘Women’s Bus of Peace’ from New Delhi to Lahore in 2000, will always be remembered by people on both sides of the border. Her intensity and commitment to national causes were as Gandhian as her methods. She believed that India could never achieve true greatness unless it threw off the shackles of caste and religious prejudices, and firmly rooted governance in democracy and secularism. She was a true “crusader for peace, amity and understanding,” as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said while conferring the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award on her. Her name was briefly considered for the post of President, which in itself was a reflection of the esteem in which she was held by the nation. Ms Nirmala Deshpande was a relentless fighter for peace and inclusive progress.

Thought for the day

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. 

— John F. Kennedy

ARTICLE

The real nuclear issue
Uranium shortage is acute
by K. Subrahmanyam

What is the crucial nuclear issue facing the country? It is not the strategic arsenal. The former National Security Adviser, Brajesh Mishra, one of the very few people who had access to classified information on it and who in fact formulated the policy is satisfied that our strategic programme will proceed on the lines formulated by the NDA government. It is not the issue of India’s right to test.

While 178 countries of the world have signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), including all five nuclear weapon powers of the Nonproliferation Treaty, and 144 of them, including three nuclear weapon powers — Russia, UK and France have ratified the treaty. India has not signed the CTBT. But India is one of the 44 countries which are listed as having to sign and ratify the treaty if it is to come into force.

Nine out of this 44 have not signed or ratified the treaty. The US Senate has rejected the treaty and is therefore one of the 9. While the two Democratic contenders in the US Presidential election have pledged to get the treaty ratified by the Senate that would need 67 votes in the Senate in favour. Whether a Democratic President will be able to obtain that number of votes remains to be seen.

India as a sovereign country and as a nonsignatory to the CTBT can always carry out a nuclear test. India is not entering into any commitment not to carry out nuclear tests and there is no commitment in 123 agreement between India and US not to carry out tests. But it should be obvious to all Indian politicians that if India were to carry out any tests in future there will be international sanctions by most if not all countries.

In 1974 and in 1998 India took the risk, carried out the tests and came under sanctions. Therefore, the proposed Indo-US agreement does not add any new conditionality on India about testing. On the other hand the 123 agreement is the first international treaty which will be signed by India that will recognise implicitly that there may be justifiable contingencies in which India may be compelled to conduct nuclear tests.

Section 14(1) of the finalised draft treaty says, “The parties agree to consider carefully the circumstances that may lead to termination or cessation of cooperation. They further agree to take into account whether the circumstances that may lead to termination or cessation resulted from a party’s serious concern about a changed security environment or as a response to similar efforts by other states which could impact on national security.”

This important clause recognising the right of India to conduct tests under certain circumstances is usually overlooked by those who are viscerally opposed to the efforts to get India freed from technology denial regime.

It has been made clear by US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher that the Hyde Act, about which so much has been written and spoken about by the Left parties and others is purely US Domestic Legislation which empowers the US President to give a one-time waiver for civil nuclear cooperation with India though Delhi is not a signatory to the Nonproliferation Treaty. The 123 agreement which does not contain any objectionable provisions and demands from the Indian point of view ,will pass through US Congress and will supersede all earlier legislations including the Hyde Act.

The real issue which is not being tackled by those who oppose the Indo-US Treaty is that because of uranium shortage, the reactors in the country are running at half the capacity and they will continue to run only at that half capacity for the next five years till more uranium mines are developed in the country. Even when such mines are developed the estimated uranium ore reserves will be sufficient to run only 10,000 MW of nuclear power for the lifetime of the reactors. This has been clearly stated by Dr Anil Kakodkar, the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and Dr M.R. Srinivasan, the former Chairman,

The scientists are very clear that 10,000 MW of nuclear power generation using indigenous uranium will not be adequate to implement the three stage of nuclear power programme envisioned by Dr Bhabha or for future utilisation of abundantly available Thorium for our nuclear power programme. In the three stage programme the first stage of nuclear power of Pressurised heavy-water reactors and enriched uranium-light water reactors should be expanded to 50,000 MW in order to sustain a fast breeder programme which will convert Thorium to uranium-233 to enable the country to have a self sustained nuclear power programme. That thorium-uranium conversion technology is some 30 years into the future.

Meanwhile, the country should set up a number of fast breeder reactors for which our uranium requirement is five times what our indigenous sources are. Therefore such a programme cannot be implemented unless India is able to import reactors and uranium. That will not happen unless the technology denial regime against this country is removed. That is what is sought to be done by the Indo-US 123 agreement. This is what is being opposed by the Left as well as BJP.

The Left’s position is consistent. They do not want India to be a nuclear weapon power and they do not want nuclear energy.  But why should the BJP be opposing India’s civil nuclear programme and Bhabha’s three stage nuclear development programme.? If the sections of the BJP which viscerally oppose the deal but offer no solution to solve our civil nuclear power development are allowed to have their way the country’s nuclear power development will be limited to 10,000 MW for years to come and the three stage nuclear power development programme,the Thorium-Uranium conversion will get delayed further. Since our own nuclear power development will move at a slower speed most of our engineers and scientists interested in nuclear technology will find jobs elsewhere in the world where a major nuclear renaissance is beginning.

China is going ahead with a crash nuclear power programme. When there is pressure from the rest of the world  about carbon-emission-cut China will be in a position to offer its expansion of nuclear power as its contribution to reduction of carbon emission when India will have no analogous bargaining leverage.

Therefore, the real issue before the BJP is  whether they have a commitment to the nuclear future of this country, whether they are prepared to listen to our nuclear scientists and what solutions they have for our uranium crunch problem. Will the party which put India on the global map as a nuclear weapon state now contribute to winding down to the Indian civil nuclear programme? This is the challenge facing the new BJP leadership. Some Congressmen in 1998 did not understand the nuclear weapon strategy of Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha Rao and demonstrated against nuclear tests in their ignorance. Will sections of BJP which do not understand the realities of our nuclear situation follow that precedent?

MIDDLE

Storm over a cup of tea
by Vepa Rao 

When I moved into a Delhi colony several years ago, my immediate neighbours came in and introduced themselves. Both Kewal and Bhajram seemed the very picture of warmth and good manners. The types that hailed you from a distance, grabbed your palm, pumped it heartily and said very nice things about you.

Soon, I discovered, Kewal was a born flatterer and a master of the superlative: “Your darshan is the most spiritual event of my day, bhai saab!”.

Bhajram’s style was different . “Sir, command me, what service can I do for you”. When you acknowledged his kindness and said “nothing was needed”, he would feel hurt and annoyed. “Sir, are you annoyed with me? By thanking, you have declared me an outsider—not ghar ka.Give me a chance to do some seva (service)”. I was pressurised often into withdrawing my thanks .

The only way to free your palm from Bhajram’s handshake was to invent some work for him. Irregular water supply, extra blankets needed for guests — the usual problems came in handy . But how long could you invent tasks for such a persistent fellow?

They were also reputed in the neighbourhood for another “menacing” habit. While Bhajram sat at his window with a hawk’s eye, Kewal prowled around pretending inspection of plants, drain-pipes etc. If they spotted you looking free, they would virtually drag you in for a cup of tea. It was almost physical. No escape.

Mrs Bhajram’s luke-warm tea and stale left-overs of snacks and sweets might have suited only starved crows. Top it with his ultimate punch-line every now and then:” Who knows better about human nature than you, sir!”

Kewal’s tea was o.k. — but he blew his nose regularly into a hand- towel hung on his shoulder. Tea and biscuits served with these hands. Eek! And when he sat next to you, reading out windy poems or essays he had written…

The only thing they did not do was to tie you in ropes and force the tea down your throat. Frank explanation wouldn’t penetrate their minds. Their hospitality was pathological.

The menace extended to our regular visitors too—they would be waylaid often and dragged in “for a cup of tea” by either Kewal or Bhajram. Irritated friends started avoiding my home.

At last, I shifted out. But my phobia for strong, insistant invitations to tea etc lingers. I am told, such “hospitable” fellows are becoming more and more common. They don’t realise that it is wrong to force others to drink tea as a matter of “courtesy”. Is there a way out?

OPED

Olympic tussle
Torch drama moves to Mount Everest
by Andrew Buncombe

William Holland was only thinking of the photograph. When he got to the top of Everest he planned to take the rolled-up flag saying “Free Tibet” from his rucksack, pose for posterity with the banner as a backdrop and then roll it away again before starting back down. He was not looking to make a scene.

But that is exactly what transpired. Someone in the group he was climbing with informed the Nepalese authorities of Mr Holland’s flag. When he reached Everest Base Camp he was ordered from the mountain and told to go straight to Kathmandu. From there he was deported from Nepal with an order not to return for two years.

The 26-year-old US climber’s treatment at the hands of the Nepalese authorities is just one indication of how the world’s highest mountain has in recent days become engulfed by the politics and controversy surrounding China and its relationship with Tibet.

As Chinese climbers seek to reach Everest’s summit carrying a replica of the Olympic torch, the Nepalese government has closed down the upper areas of the mountain within its own borders and ordered everyone to stay away from the summit. It has even told the dozens of security personnel dispatched to the mountain they can shoot protesters seeking to disrupt the Chinese ascent.

The behaviour of the Nepalese has been widely criticised, not only by pro-Tibet activists and human rights campaigners but also by mountaineers who say that the 29,029ft peak – straddling the border of China and Nepal – should remain loftily above politics. They insist the actions of the Nepalese government – which is desperate to remain on good terms with China – are a severe overreaction.

“It’s ridiculous. The Chinese have basically bought themselves a mountain. It’s all about money and politics,” said Mr Holland, now home in Virginia.

“I don’t know if the Nepalese are filling their coffers because of this. It’s not as though the Tibetan flag is banned in Nepal – you see it all over the place.” The embroiling of Everest in the controversy surrounding the China-Tibet issue dates from April last year when the Beijing Games organising committee revealed the route the Olympic torch would take. The committee said it would pass through more than 20 countries on six continents and travel more than 85,000 miles, the longest journey of any Olympic torch.

“The Olympic torch relay is one of the most important ceremonies and a major means to spread and promote the Olympic spirit,” claimed the committee’s president, Liu Qi. “As one of the grand ceremonies for the Beijing Olympic Games, the torch relay of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games has set its theme as the Journey of Harmony.”

As part of the journey of harmony envisaged by Liu Qi, it was announced that once the Olympic flame was transferred from Greece to Beijing, another torch would be lit and this new flame would then be carried to the top of Everest, known in China as Mount Qomolangma. “One of the highlights of this leg will be the attempt to bring the Olympic flame to the highest peak in the world,” said the Chinese.

Just as the main torch has become a lightning rod for pro-Tibetan protests wherever it has appeared, the attempt to bring the second flame to the summit of Everest has also run into problems and controversy. The protests followed the violent crackdown by the Chinese authorities of protests in March in Lhasa and surrounding areas in support of Tibetan autonomy.

So fearful are the Chinese that the second flame will attract similar protests, the authorities have instituted a media clampdown. This included the farcical ending of a BBC correspondent’s attempts to film for an online diary at a base camp on the Chinese side of the mountain.

“Clambering breathlessly down from the ridge we were herded towards our next briefing. In a week that has seen a lot of pointless briefings, this one broke new ground,” wrote Jonah Fisher. “A crew of firemen explained how in this rocky, barren and almost entirely plantless landscape there was a severe risk of fire. There followed a demonstration of their surprisingly powerful hose.”

A couple of nights ago, the Chinese climbers and their propane-fuelled torch were holed up at 21,300ft at Advanced Base Camp, waiting for better weather before heading for the summit. On the other side of the mountain, the authorities in Kathmandu have announced a 10-day ban on all climbing beyond Everest’s Base 2, located at 21,300ft.

Apparently acting on a request from Beijing, they have banned the unauthorised use of satellite phones, video recorders and radios. Any mountaineer found speaking to journalists could also be expelled from the mountain. Police and troops have been authorised to fire at any protesters who make their way to Everest.

Yesterday, Human Rights Watch said it had written to the Nepalese authorities urging them to rescind the order. “The Nepal authorities should be using whatever means necessary to protect basic human rights, not violate them,” said spokeswoman Sophie Richardson. “With the world watching, this is the moment for Nepal’s new government to prove that it aspires and adheres to international standards.”

The response of Nepal to the pro-Tibet protests that have broken out around the world has been among the most harsh of any government other than China. Hundreds of Tibetan monks and activists were arrested and detained after demonstrations outside the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu.

Its behaviour has been driven by its desire to cement good relations with its powerful neighbour, a policy that is unlikely to alter following the recent elections that saw the country’s Maoist party win the largest number of seats. Trapped between China and India, Nepal believes it needs to have good relations with both huge countries. But does Nepal need to go so far in doing China’s bidding, especially in regard to Mount Everest? Many believe not.

By arrangement with The Independent

Improve governance in Himachal
by N.K. Singh

A new government has taken over in Himachal Pradesh and it is time that changes are brought in to make administration people-friendly and remove delays in giving aid to the needy, to speed up disposal of grievances, and to create a lean and efficient bureaucracy.

All decisions of the political machinery are dependent on prompt execution of projects, and quick implementation of instructions. This is an area still weak; it brought about the fall of the previous government due to bad governance.

The total achievement of the target of the five-year plan for Himachal was 81 per cent. Almost twenty percent funds lapsed due to non-utilisation. We are begging for money and here we fail to use what we have. In the Prime Minister’s Rozgar Yojna, only 50 per cent targets were achieved. Land revenue declined from 2002’s Rs 51 crores to a mere 1 crore. Rs 60 crores taxes were not collected.

Areas under fruit production went down, vacancies notified to the employment exchange went down from 14,485 in 1999 to 1295, in spite of claims of industrialisation and rising investment. The Prime Minister’s Gram Road Yojna suffered a set back as substantial money was not utilised; out of 229 villages targeted, only 41 were linked.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has reported that there was defective budgeting, irregular utilisation of work force and irrational allocation of funds. Against Rs 165 crore asked for by one department, Rs 234 were sanctioned.

Some 3,276 vacant posts in the health department were not filled, affecting health services. 60 per cent of funds to help BPL families remained unutilised as BDOs failed to spend the amount.

Apart from these larger issues, there are innumerable problems of processes, procedures and conduct of the civil service. For example, there are unending complaints that revenue officials and others whom the public wants to meet, for redressing grievances, are hardly available. The procedures are made unnecessarily complicated.

For example, every time you want to get anything done you are asked to file an affidavit. If one wants to register a private car you are asked to file an affidavit that you will not use it for commercial purposes. To file an application under the RTI one has to run from the Treasury to the SDM to the bank, just to pay Rs 10. Why cannot one go to the bank directly and deposit the amount under a head opened for miscellaneous receipts like this?

A man whose house was blown away wanted a small amount of money to put up a straw roof. He was asked to go to the Naib tehsildar after making an application and then to follow the procedure. Why is it not possible for the Naib to check from the village pradhan if the request is genuine and then pay him out of a special fund?

There are many such matters where simplification and efficiency can be easily achieved.

The writer is former Chairman, International Airports Authority

Bill Clinton on a ‘Bubba’ tour for Hillary
by Leonard Doyle

Elkin, North Carolina – The moms and pops of this small town were in the local school gymnasium waiting for Bill Clinton to arrive. As is often the case the former president was running late, but the secret service agents, county sheriff and local police officers added a frisson of excitement for those waiting on the bleachers.

Suddenly there he was. Dressed in an immaculate suit, pale blue tie and highly polished shoes he arrived surrounded by local worthies of the Democratic Party. Aside from a media minder, there was hardly a black face in the room, although more than half of North Carolina’s electorate is black.

And that was the whole point of him being in Elkin, a town of 4,109 people, where 84.11 per cent of the population were white at the last count.

Bill Clinton is campaigning for his wife, Hillary, across rural America on what has been called the Bubba tour. White men in the South are often affectionately known as Bubbas and far from the public eye and the network media, Mr Clinton is harvesting votes among working-class whites, tapping a vein of uneasiness among voters at the prospect of voting for a black candidate. Mr Clinton has himself at times stirred racial animosity and become in the process a distraction for his wife’s campaign.

In Elkin, as in the other small communities, the audience was mostly female and elderly, the bedrock of Hillary Clinton’s refuse-to-die campaign. Sherry Master, 55, had tears in her eyes as she looked out at the former president. “It’s time that a woman was given a voice in running this country,” she said, “I’m going to vote for Hillary or nobody, certainly not that shifty Obama.”

“She’s the sort of person who ought to be president,” said Carrie Bats, aged 60, “she’s tough enough.” George Wollin, 64, a lifelong Republican and still unsure who he intends to vote for in the presidential election, wondered why Bill Clinton caused so much excitement. “There’s a sexual pull about him that’s undeniable,” he said. “I mean, look at the audience, what’s going through their minds?”

Mr Clinton has emerged as his wife’s main strategist in recent weeks. Despite a quadruple heart bypass, he pushes himself hard on the campaign trail, attending up to seven events a day in gymnasiums, town halls and churches that go on late into the night. He is also the main guiding force behind Mrs Clinton as she makes yet another attempt to deny Barack Obama the Democratic nomination.

Much of Mrs Clinton’s success in winning four of the last six primaries has been attributed to her husband’s aggressive campaigning style. He inserted his own aides into the campaign headquarters and insisted it remain on the offensive against Mr Obama.

Mr Clinton has also courted controversy and turned off black voters in droves. He recently said the Obama campaign had “played the race card on me”, and was then attacked for his “bizarre” behaviour by the highest black Democratic leader in Congress, James Clyburn, who accused him of marginalising Mr Obama.

In Elkin, Mr Clinton was introduced as the president who knew how to balance the budget and for raising the incomes of millions of Americans by more than $3,000 per annum. Then he spoke without notes for an hour, describing how the average American family now spends an extra $450 a year on petrol and an extra $250 a year on food while health costs and the cost of going to college have doubled.

He described how 90 per cent of the benefits of George Bush’s tax cuts have gone to 10 per cent, but failed to mention that he himself was one of those beneficiaries or that he has earned some $109m since leaving office.

Instead he spoke of his first salary, $16,000, as well as the first house he bought, for $20,000 and how tough it is now to make car and mortgage payments.

Holding the audience in the palm of his hand, Mr Clinton gave five reasons why his wife would make the best president, covering energy costs, the environment, the economy, health care and the war in Iraq. It was a bravura performance, for which he would normally expect a fee of $250,000.

But now the priority is getting Hillary, and himself back in the White House. In his down-home style, he explained how all the problems of smalltown America would soon vanish under a president Hillary.

By arrangement with The Independent