I am speaking in Washington and squeeze in among the 16,000 people in the Conference Center in DC when Susan Rice, US National Security Advisor, addresses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac). The audience demonstrates that crowds can in fact be subtle and intelligent. At one point in her carefully crafted speech Rice says: “I know some of you would argue we should impose sanctions and just walk away. But my friends, let’s remember that sanctions unfortunately have never stopped Iran from advancing its programme.” The crowd, expecting the second sentence, applauded wildly and gave a prolonged standing ovation after the first. It was a moment of collective genius and a sort of bliss to see a politician have to accept a standing ovation for a point everyone knew she was about to rebut.

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The big event, for which the whole city seems to stop, is Binyamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress. Being in DC at such moments is enormously exciting, perhaps especially for a Brit. By comparison, much that goes on in Westminster today feels so petty and hollow. Parliament votes on little matters and few members of the public can bring themselves to care.

I don’t think it’s only a Beltway thing; in America there is still a pile of political issues which truly seem to galvanise everybody. Perhaps it is because they are often arguments about first principles. But in Washington everything is also fought over so hard and so viciously because what happens there really matters. I spend a day on the Hill and at the National Democratic Club. The constant frisson you feel there is not just because it is the backdrop for House of Cards, but from the simple fact that DC remains the political powerhouse of the world.