The wind off the coast of New York is strong, yet there’s no sound of city noise. On the contrary: the Statue of Liberty stands perfectly calm on her island in the middle of the sea, while a few boats putter along past the city’s skyscrapers. But suddenly, just before the US election, McCain and Obama go sailing by. A sailboat has had both candidates’ portraits painted onto its sails. The wind picks up again, and everyone waits eagerly to see who will have been blown away after 4 November.