[ccebook.cn]The World in 2010

Ms Rhee is reviled by many of those she has clashed with. Her decisions to fire some under-performers and
close some bad schools have attracted vitriolic criticism. But fair-minded observers note that there have been
some impressive turn-arounds. Extreme courage and proven results at so young an age make Ms Rhee, along
with Joel Klein of New York and Arne Duncan (formerly the schools boss of Chicago and now, aged 45, Mr
Obama’s education secretary), one of America’s most interesting educators.
Also at the ripe old age of 39 is Paul Ryan, the dashing young congressman for the 1st district of Wisconsin,
which he has represented since he was only 28. Mr Ryan is often touted as future presidential-candidate
material, but his main task in 2010 is to help the Republicans win back the House of Representatives at the
mid-term elections. Along with his close associate Eric Cantor, the second-ranked Republican in the House, Mr
Ryan has been instrumental in wrestling the party away from an obsession with social-conservative issues such
as abortion, gay marriage and guns to a more traditional focus on economic conservatism. In this he has been
mightily helped by Mr Obama’s trillion-dollar deficit and concern that radical health-care reform will add to it.
...and a charming Castro
Mr Ryan is the Republicans’ senior man on the House’s powerful budget committee, and in 2008 published a
“road map for America’s future” that was full of good sense on how to restore America’s public finances while
guaranteeing health coverage for all. His ideas got nowhere then, in the run-up to Mr Obama’s dazzling
election victory. They might carry more weight in 2010. How far Mr Ryan and Mr Cantor have succeeded in
refocusing the Republican Party will be known only in November. But Mr Ryan is a big part of the reason why
Republican fortunes, which hit rock-bottom after Mr Obama’s election, now feel as if they are on the up.
The youngest of our three is Julian Castro, elected mayor of San Antonio in May 2009 at the tender age of
34. San Antonio is America’s seventh-largest city, and the largest Hispanic-majority city of all. So by winning—
without the usual need for a run-off—Mr Castro instantly became one of the most prominent Hispanics in
America. (His rivals for the title include Sonia Sotomayor, who joined the Supreme Court as the first-ever
Hispanic justice last August, and the mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa.)
Mr Castro has a big future to fulfil, which will doubtless one day include running for the United States Senate
or for the governorship of Texas. Thanks to its large and rapidly rising Hispanic population, Texas is one of
only four states in America where “Anglos” (non-Hispanic whites) no longer form the majority. Since Hispanics
tend to vote strongly Democratic in elections, this offers the prospect of George Bush’s home state flipping to
the other side in the not-too-far-off future. An important development to watch will be the state legislative
elections in Texas in November 2010: the Democrats are only two seats short of control of the state’s House,
and hope to win it, thanks in large part to the Hispanic vote. As it happens, Mr Castro’s twin brother, Joaquin,
is a member of the Texas House. Might Mr Castro one day be the Hispanic Barack Obama? He certainly has
the charm, brains and boldness for the role.
Christopher Lockwood: United States editor, The Economist
Christopher Lockwood: United States editor, The Economist
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Corbis