Very good point in Niall Ferguson's column today:

As far as I can see, the only significant differences between the 50 states are climatic. And even then, the range is relatively narrow by global standards. To prove my point, ask yourself where you would end up if you flew the same distance - around 2,500 miles - eastwards from London. The answer is Baku. How about flying the same distance from Zurich? You'd be in Khartoum.

If an Australian flew 2,500 miles north from Perth, he'd be just short of Kuala Lumpur. Consider the immense cultural differences that separate these places and you realise that the most amazing thing of all about the United States is not its polarisation, but its homogeneity.

That's also borne out by serious scrutiny of American public opinion. In their fascinating new book, Culture War: The Myth of a Polarised America, Morris Fiorina, Sam Abrams and Jeremy Pope comprehensively debunk the notion that American society is deeply divided. On a whole range of issues, which don't get debated because consensus is taken for granted, Americans have strikingly similar views. Even on the issues about which the political class gets excited - abortion, homosexuality and religion - it's remarkable how much common ground there is.

"On the whole," the authors conclude, "the views of the American citizenry look moderate, centrist, nuanced, ambivalent… rather than extreme, polarised, unconditional [and] dogmatic."