It has now rained nearly every day for months in Vienna and the locals are getting restless. You know how happy the Viennese are normally? Well they are starting to look decidedly grim.

I heard a joke on the radio yesterday. How do you tell when summer is coming in Vienna? The rain gets warmer!

On the bright side - sales of Topfenstrudel have rocketed as the Wieners try to console themselves with this local delicacy.

Torres#9 has asked what I would do differently if I was President. The answer is not much. I think President Obama is as effective as he can be in the face of blind opposition by the Republicans to each and every initiative and nomination regardless of the needs of the country.

To watch the fierce attacks - for one example - on the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court is to see them in full flight. The right developed a few lies at the outset and has been banging these out day after day since the nomination. They are trawling through stuff she wrote 20 years ago to find quotes they can use out of context to demonstrate - they say - her hatred of the military, religion, guns or whatever.

What would I do differently?

Accept that there is not the slightest possibility that I will ever get any support or cooperation from the right - unless I want to introduce legislation to - say - reduce taxes for the really rich or make it mandatory for anyone over the age of 8 to carry a handgun - or bomb the shit out of Iran. And act accordingly.

And finally - admit that I am the bastard child of Hitler, invented rabies and killed and ate Jimmy Hoffa.