For a typical American family that earns less than it did in the year President Obama was elected, the anguishedcries and dark predictions coming out of the White House should elicit not sympathy but revulsion.
With both sides having plenty to play for the opening exchanges were remarkably tame, anguishedcries from the players were often audible on the rare occasions when West Ham's vociferous 1, 500 travelling contingent were not making themselves heard.
Against this backdrop, it must be asked: Are the benefits of Soviet foreign policy so great that the United States must, as the Bush administration believes, follow the dictates of realpolitik supporting Mr. Gorbachev, come what may, and ignoring the anguishedcries of those whose desire for Western-style liberties and institutions will make them targets of Kremlin repression?