The most significant fact of political life, which almost no news organization will dare to acknowledge - because it would at a stroke exclude half of its speculations and disappointments - is that in some key areas of politics, nothing can be achieved very quickly by any one person or party; it would be impossible for anyone - not simply this fool or that group of cretins - to change matters at a pace that would flatter the expectations of the news cycle; and that in the case of certain problems, the only so-called 'solutions' will have to await a hundred years or more of incremental change, rather than a messianic leader, an international conference or a quick war.