h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Oh come on Runescribe we're living in the 'media' age. PMQ is often shown on the news. After 10 years of TB brilliance against all comers of Tory leaders, and there's been quite a few, Gordon is suddenly having rings run around him by some fresh faced old etonian puppy. I find it an embarasement. The perception of him as a strong competant statesman has been shot to pieces. Like it or not that's the reality of things now.

I have no problem with the idea that verbal dexterity is related to electability, or even leadership skills. I do take issue with the idea that the fastest talker is the most suited to govern.

Politicians are like conjuerers.

They do neat tricks and make wild claims and for a while they look impressive but after a while you start to notice that they are just wearing a different coloured top hat and using different patter and distractions to the last one you saw.

Labour were into creating a paper thin separation between those who "donated" or made loans" tot he party and those who got peers for a long time, even before 97. So were and likely ever willbe the Tories.

Corruption isnt the news the news is *how* they pull the scams.


Administrations dont run out of ideas (though some probably do, but some wont like some artisits do or dont get cretive bloacks) thay run out of good will and favours they can pull in or negotiate. Eventually people with hold support for politicians brave new ideas when they notice how shady they are and that they never kept the promises they mad eto get support last time. So rather than forging ahead with radical new policies they have to resort to watered down middle of the road policies they can get through because they arent too likely to upset many but arent that exciting either.


Grodon Brown it appears from you lot istn seen as being charismatic enough to be a leader. I think he's going to have a tough time when he does cal the election. Tony Blair got out because people were sick of him, now they miss his skilled charm but I doubt they actually miss the lying poodle of Bush.

blicky I hope you don't just lump me in with everyone who is suddenly anti Brown because he's not charismatic enough.

I'm just trying to be realistic about the way he will come across to voters. I want Labour to be re-elected, desperately. But the problem is that because Brown suddenly seems so fragile, the media will rip him to pieces. I have never been as anti Blair as some Labour supporters have because I recognised that he understood the realities of holding power in a 24 hour voracious news age. As Tony always said during Labour's first term, 'no complacency'. He knew how easy it was to take your eye off the ball once you had power.

I really do hope Gordon can turn things around with voters. But I do feel quite angry with him for behaving so naivly, and allowing a twit like Cameron to look good on the news.

gawd 'elp him then if the people who are pro-Brown like you are in your own words, angry with him and think he's naieve.

Keep that feeling for another year and then we'll see if you are *still* pro-Brown.

I'm not pro Brown. I'm pro Labour. Or maybe more honestly I'm anti Tory. And after such a long period where they haven't had a sniff, and maybe sometimes almost looked on the verge of extinction, I feel angry that they've been let back in when they just don't deserve it. Gordon's obviously a very clever man but I also get the impression that personal ego and game playing are more important to him than the good of the Labour party.

I'm looking forward to watching This Week tonight to see what long standing Brown supporter, but always straight talking Dianne Abbot will say.

I would say that Billy Hague was roundly thought to have the better of Blair more often than not at the despatch box....

How did that turn out again?

Yes, Hague was good at PMQs, but he didn't engage with the electorate in any viable way, and so facing TB across the Dispatch Box was, as he said in his last PMQs as Leader of the Opposition, "interesting, entertaining, but from my point of view, thoroughly unproductive".

So Cameron won this PMQs, yes. But, if I think back to the start of the summer break, he definately lost the last one. One PMQs make little difference in the long run. If Brown still appears to be running scared after a few months, then there may be cause for concern, but there's nothing much to worry about yet.


Geggs

I also think as we have just had amply demonstrated, a week is a long time in politics. 18 months is an age. May 2009 now being the likely election date there is a long time for things to change.

Mind you Brown is not the flavour of the month with me and my colleagues in the CWU at the moment after what he said about us.

His pensions all right after he gave himself an exemption to the 1.8 million maximum.

As ever with things it's about context. TB, even if he lost some kind of clever, debating, schoolboy argument thing with Hague at the dispatch box, never looked anything other than prime ministerial. He always oozed confidence. It was like whatever Hague threw at him was water off a duck's back. But what I saw yesterday was GB totally on the defensive, after a horendous week, blustering and at the mercy of Dave and Tory jeers. Isn't GB still supposed to be in his honeymoon period?

He just comes across as so much on the defensive, the moment he's under a bit of pressure. Crikey when I think of all the stuff they tried to throw at Tony, even the fiasco of Iraq, and he always laughed it off. And why the hell didn't Gordon just honestly say yes, I delayed the election, because I want to win. And what's wrong with wanting to be a winner? I reckon the press would have loved that.

Why doesn't he just ignore Tory provocation and stick confidently and positively to his vision of what he wants for the country? Maybe he doesn't really have a vision because he's spent all these years fuming at Tony Blair stealing the leadership from him?. All he ever wanted is to be PM. He's got that now finally. Is there anything left for him?

OK I maybe over reacting. I know that. Lets see what happens. But I have some horrible feeling that it actually seems possible now for the Tories to do really well at the next election. And I haven't thought that in 15 years.

Well GB is in deep dodo when Diane Abbot is positively luke warm. I thought she got quite close to extracting the urine.

Fanny - are you perchance Tony Blair's love child ?

Are you totally blind to the stream of lies he fed the electorate, Parliament, and the Labour party from the moment John Smith dropped dead ?

Oh come now McKay that's a bit strong old chap.

I just happen to think that TB was just very good at what all succesful politicians do when they are in power. Its the reality of things in this day and age. The Tories always did it to. Remember the Westland affair. And going further back you will have seen my posting on the 'hypocritical Tories' thread about what Super Mac did over the Windscale accident. And as I said there was no voracious tabloid press then to tell us about his lies, just a lot of nauseating deference.

Still if you want to hold onto the idea that Tony was much more the Spawn of Satan than any other PM, such as the blessed Margaret, that's up to you.

For a trip down memory lane, enjoy this gem.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWOy23MLY1I

I'm at work - and can't access streaming media - I'm not so blind as to fail to see the faults in politicans of all colours, however I'm prepared to view an overall picture of the person, rather than one small section.

The fact TB was expert at manipulation of the media did not make him a good primeminister, by the end he was believing his own press releases.

Margret Thatcher was prepared to change the face of Britain to make it self-supporting, like TB she started to think she was omnipotent and took it all too far, but when she started she was just what this country needed.