Outside-the-beltway buzz

I'm in Doha, Qatar this week for a conference on democracy, development, and free trade. There's an overwhelming amount of construction under way. For every office building or hotel, it seems, there are three unfinished towers wrapped in scaffolding with men rappelling down the sides. There's a lot going on as Qatar prepares to host ...

I'm in Doha, Qatar this week for a conference on democracy, development, and free trade. There's an overwhelming amount of construction under way. For every office building or hotel, it seems, there are three unfinished towers wrapped in scaffolding with men rappelling down the sides. There's a lot going on as Qatar prepares to host the Asian Games in December.

I'm in Doha, Qatar this week for a conference on democracy, development, and free trade. There's an overwhelming amount of construction under way. For every office building or hotel, it seems, there are three unfinished towers wrapped in scaffolding with men rappelling down the sides. There's a lot going on as Qatar prepares to host the Asian Games in December.

Which is why it surprised me that one of the first people I spoke to in the city, my driver from the airport, wasn't interested in talking about Qatar at all. Instead, he wanted to know how I thought the immigration protests gaining steam in the United States were going to shape the 2008 U.S. presidential race. (For the record, he thinks it helps New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.) Good to know that armchair political analysis doesn't stop at the Beltway.

Kate Palmer is deputy managing editor at Foreign Policy.

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