General Election 2010 Page 60

Quote: chipolata @ April 28 2010, 3:15 PM BST

To be fair, he's not responsible for the global financial tsunami that hit us. And as PM, rightly or wrongly, you're going to become a lightning conductor and get blamed for pretty much everything and anything.

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He did his bit to contribute to the financial crisis, and to ensure Britain was unprepared when it hit, through relaxing finacial regulation, encouraging a boom based on personal credit and splurging on Government borrowing; with, it appears, an agenda of inculcating a feelgood factor to ensure his succession.

But like I say, in becoming primeminister he chose to relinquish the real power he had built up in the Treasury for the glitz of 10 Downing Street. It is bizarre that someone so palpably uncomfortable in the public eye should have gone to such lengths to become the centre of attention.

Quote: Timbo @ April 28 2010, 3:28 PM BST

It is bizarre that someone so palpably uncomfortable in the public eye should have gone to such lengths to become the centre of attention.

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It's the top job in British politics. I'm sure everybody in politics wants it. And crucially, they think things will work out differently for them than the other poor shlubs who've inhabited the role.

Quote: Timbo @ April 28 2010, 3:28 PM BST

He did his bit to contribute to the financial crisis, and to ensure Britain was unprepared when it hit

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I'm not sure any country in the world was prepared for it when it hit. They were all caught with their pants down. But, it's always nice to have somebody to blame.

Quote: Aaron @ April 28 2010, 1:37 PM BST

True; but it's still blowing wide open any myth that he respects people who don't share his views wholeheartedly. That's the central issue that people are jumping on.

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Which politician does?

To some extent I wouldn't kick my Tory candidate out of bed but I wouldn't vote for her.

http://www.philippastroud.com/

I was going to say the same about Lynne Featherstone but I've just had another look and I'm not so sure now.

Quote: Oldrocker @ April 28 2010, 3:49 PM BST

I was going to say the same about Lynne Featherstone but I've just had another look and I'm not so sure now.

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Not even after 6 pints?

Quote: Chappers @ April 28 2010, 3:52 PM BST

Not even after 6 pints?

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Goo on then. She'd have to take her place behind Yvonne from the Asda tho'.

Quote: chipolata @ April 28 2010, 3:33 PM BST

I'm not sure any country in the world was prepared for it when it hit. They were all caught with their pants down. But, it's always nice to have somebody to blame.

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That was because they all (with a few honourable exceptions, such as Poland) copied one anothers' mistakes; wealth was being generated as if by magic and they all wanted a piece of the action. But it was not difficult to predict how it was going to end (as Vince Cable never misses the opportunity to remind us). Being as venal and stupid as your peers is not much of a defence.

Britain is not quite such a basket case as Iceland, Greece or Ireland, but we have fared worse than most, and Gordon has to take some additional responsibility for that.

Quote: chipolata @ April 28 2010, 3:15 PM BST

To be fair, he's not responsible for the global financial tsunami that hit us.

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To be fair, he criticised other countries which hadn't already relaxed their banking. He was more to blame than most, because he advocated it so strongly.

Quote: Timbo @ April 28 2010, 2:43 PM BST

And surely Conolly, like all true Scots patriots, lives in Los Angeles?

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Yes, but I still love him!

The thing about Brown's gaffe is that he was positively smarming over the woman as he got into the car. If he didn't agree with what she said and didn't have the guts to say so, he could still have played it a lot cooler.

It was a Sky mic, wasn't it? Is anyone suggesting dirty tricks by Murdoch?

Quote: chipolata @ April 28 2010, 3:33 PM BST

I'm not sure any country in the world was prepared for it when it hit. They were all caught with their pants down. But, it's always nice to have somebody to blame.

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There's a difference between getting caught with your pants down and as we were, thanks to Gordy's spending regime, bending over and facing the other direction.

Quote: Timbo @ April 28 2010, 5:34 PM BST

It was a Sky mic, wasn't it? Is anyone suggesting dirty tricks by Murdoch?

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That seems to be the response of left-leaning Twitterers.

Well that's bullshit any journalist worth their salt would have grabbed a scoop like that. Brown has no media skills what so ever, he grins like a paedophile watching the police walking up his garden path.

At least Cleggaron have the skills to operate in the modern world.

Quote: sootyj @ April 28 2010, 9:35 PM BST

Brown has no media skills what so ever, he grins like a paedophile watching the police walking up his garden path.

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What hasn't been much discussed is the rest of his in-car conversation. He sounded so absolutely defeatist, writing off his innocuous time as a disaster. What must he think when all the real disasters happen?

Quote: Nogget @ April 28 2010, 9:50 PM BST

What hasn't been much discussed is the rest of his in-car conversation. He sounded so absolutely defeatist, writing off his innocuous time as a disaster. What must he think when all the real disasters happen?

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Yes, that was weird. It seemed like a reasonable exchange and they parted on good terms.

I do wonder from the apology if he heard her "where are they flocking from?" as "where are they f**king from?", though. That might explain his comments a bit and his reaction to how well he thought it went.

Or it could just be a fortunate get-out clause for the spin-doctors to latch on to.

EDIT: Actually, I've just looked at the transcripts and my impression is definitely that he thought she'd said f**king. In that case I think he's been terribly unlucky because that would make her sound bigoted and the meeting seem like a disaster.