First Colin Powell or obama...

Ken Adelman is a lifelong conservative Republican. Campaigned for Goldwater, was hired by Rumsfeld at the Office of Economic Opportunity under Nixon, was assistant to Defense Secretary Rumsfeld under Ford, served as Reagan’s director of arms control, and joined the Defense Policy Board for Rumsfeld’s second go-round at the Pentagon, in 2001. Adelman’s friendship with Rumsfeld, Cheney, and their wives goes back to the sixties, and he introduced Cheney to Paul Wolfowitz at a Washington brunch the day Reagan was sworn in.

In recent years, Adelman and his friends Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz fell out over his criticisms of the botching of the Iraq War. Still, he remains a bona-fide hawk (“not really a neo-con but a con-con”) who has never supported a Democrat for President in his life. Two weeks from now that’s going to change: Ken Adelman intends to vote for Barack Obama. He can hardly believe it himself.

Adelman and I exchanged e-mails today about his decision. He asked rhetorically,

Why so, since my views align a lot more with McCain’s than with Obama’s? And since I truly dread the notion of a Democratic president, Democratic House, and hugely Democratic Senate?

Primarily for two reasons, those of temperament and of judgment.

When the economic crisis broke, I found John McCain bouncing all over the place. In those first few crisis days, he was impetuous, inconsistent, and imprudent; ending up just plain weird. Having worked with Ronald Reagan for seven years, and been with him in his critical three summits with Gorbachev, I’ve concluded that that’s no way a president can act under pressure.

Second is judgment. The most important decision John McCain made in his long campaign was deciding on a running mate.

That decision showed appalling lack of judgment. Not only is Sarah Palin not close to being acceptable in high office—I would not have hired her for even a mid-level post in the arms-control agency. But that selection contradicted McCain’s main two, and best two, themes for his campaign—Country First, and experience counts. Neither can he credibly claim, post-Palin pick.

I sure hope Obama is more open, centrist, sensible—dare I say, Clintonesque—than his liberal record indicates, than his cooperation with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid portends. If not, I will be even more startled by my vote than I am now.

The women addicted to Facebook friendships

FACEBOOK is to blame for "friendship addiction", a leading psychologist warned today.

David Smallwood, an addictions expert with the Priory, says the social networking site is fuelling insecurity in users.

Women are particularly vulnerable because their self-worth stems from relationships with others and Facebook compels them to "acquire" hundreds of friends, says Mr Smallwood.

Social networking has transformed the way certain sections of society communicate.

Facebook has nearly 60 million users with two million new people joining every week.

Research shows social networking sites are becoming a substitute for families in countries like Britain where traditional ties have become weaker.

Mr Smallwood, lead therapist with the Priory's addictions unit in north London, said that at least 10 per cent of the population were vulnerable to "friendship addiction". He added: 'The problem with Facebook is it's all about acquisition and this is an addictive process.

"Acquisition of friends is like any other fix but it's competitive you judge yourself by how many friends you have online. You go out of your way to amass friends and that means people bend out of shape and become something they are not.

"To appear successful, you go and put yourself in credit card debt by buying clothes and handbags. I see patients who are on Facebook and my response is 'get yourself off it'.''

Mr Smallwood said the site was unsuitable for people recovering from drug, alcohol and shopping addictions. He said: 'If you're an addict you need to do things to fix yourself and make yourself feel better.

"People in recovery look for ways of being 'fixed' and these websites can act the same way.

"But the problem is there are probably only three to four people who can be at the top in terms of popularity. Anyone else is just an also-ran which increases the feelings of inadequacy."

The site could also increase feelings of rejection through its system where users "request" friends, he added.

Anyone who is rejected cannot then access the webpage of the person who turned them down.

However, a report published today about the nation's mental health says sites such as Facebook can protect older people from social isolation.

The two-year study by think tank Foresight warns that social isolation is contributing to mental illness at a cost of £77 billion a year.

It calls on the Government to make the ageing population a priority along with wellbeing at work and child development.

The report also warns that the cost of treating dementia could rise to £50billion over the next 30 years.

Adriano: "It went very well"

MILAN - Adriano scored his 18th Champions League goal for Inter as the Nerazzurri defeated Anorthosis Famagusta in Champions League Matchday 3 at the Giuseppe Meazza.

"It went very well tonight," the Brazilian striker told Sky Sport Italia. "I'm a bit tired but I'm happy for the team's performance. I always try to give my all for the good of the team. The coach always asks me to help the team as much as possible.

"I like playing, attacking and keeping lots of ball possession. Mourinho always tells me how to behave on the pitch. I get on very well with him. Everyone knows he's a good coach.

"I'm a lot calmer now and I hope to continue like this."