The Eton Rifles v. the Texan Cowboys

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In one of the most famous lines of music journalism, John Landau wrote in 1974: “I have seen the future of rock and roll, and his name is Bruce Springsteen.”

If the Conservatives triumph at the polls in the looming general election, expect at least one American pundit to declare: “I have seen the future of right-of-centre politics, and his name is David Cameron.”

Springsteen was a musician who seemed comfortable in his skin as a blue-collar songsmith with a story to tell. Cameron, Boris Johnson and George Osborne – among others – make no effort to hide their blue blood credentials and are happy to advocate a chilled-out Conservatism.

This contrasts with the identity crisis in which the US Republican party is locked.

Throughout the most recent Bush presidency, the party sought to submerge its aristocratic heritage.

British Conservatives also attempted to torch their party’s image as a bastion of privilege in the wake of their 1997 catastrophe. William Hague boasted of his comprehensive education, Iain Duncan-Smith shared his experiences of unemployment, and Michael Howard fought a nakedly populist election campaign in 2005.

Conservatives then decided to embrace the fact that they have politicians who have enjoyed the finest education money can buy. Rather than attempt to accumulate street-cred, they have recognised swathes of Brits are enchanted by the vision of Albion presented in the Boden catalogue and like the idea of a politician who is fluent in Latin; London’s mayor revels in his image as a freewheeling brainbox.

In contrast, the Republicans have made anti-intellectualism a virtue – and potentially alienated the legions of Americans who have toiled for a feverishly expensive degree.

George W Bush is a product of Phillips Academy, (Massachusetts’s answer to Eton), Yale and Harvard. However, the party persistently attempted to portray Democrat rivals as preening elitists.

This has led to a situation where hollering demagogues such as talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh and Alaska’s homespinning enigma Sarah Palin enjoy a dominance in the party which will delight zealots but baffle many mainstream voters.

Democrat Barack Obama glided to the White House by speaking softly and doing nothing to disguise his intelligence. Former Bush speechwriter David Frum is on a mission to forge a thinking person’s Republicanism through his New Majority initiative – but the party seems destined for a brutal battle for its soul.

Tories used to wistfully look at Ronald Reagan as proof that a fiscal conservative could charm and excite millions. But today’s Republicans will stare in astonished fascination at the spectacle of a Tory victory in which voters embrace men and women who look like they were bred to lead.

If Republicans celebrate education, defend the passing of prosperity between generations, and furiously tack to the political centre, this will be a strategy born in the UK.