Well, as I think I've said elsewhere, I don't really think you can equate the shades of political standing transpondially. A liberal in the US and a liberal in the UK (or, indeed, in Australia and NZ) are two very different kettles of fish. To my way of thinking, US party-political "left-wing" attitudes are pretty much somewhere out to the right of Genghiz Khan.

I'm talking here about the parties, you should note, not about individuals. In my view, the Democrats are very conservative, judged on their actions when in power. The GOP is ultra-conservative, judged on theirs. The neocons are fascists, pure and simple.

So the notion of a political "liberal" will have very different connotations in the US and in the UK, I would have thought!