Blog Knowledge.

Thanks to an anonymous reader for the encyclopedic comment on my "Shadows" posting, in which I suggest that U.S. political parties could do worse than to emulate the British tradition of a "shadow cabinet."

Anon fills in the facts, supplementing my sketchy research, then comments:

The fun thing about this system is that the Prime Minister is always held accountable for his actions and must "answer" to the house during question period...a time when any MP may ask a question. That lends itself to some royal squabbles, rabble rousing and general fireworks in the House. That's why when GWB visited Ottawa last month, he DID NOT address the House of Commons. It left him open to criticism. (Reagan was heckled during his speech in the 80's...but handled it with aplomb.) Lesson finito.

Yeah, well, we Americans would rather try for accountability of our "PM" in the press and TV. Makes you wonder who's a more advanced democracy.

Thanks, Anon. Nope, I have no questions.

Here you go, read both posts: Link

For more than you'll ever want to know about British politics, try this search on Answers.com, with grateful nods to the many wonks of Wikipedia.org.