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ajmy06

Listed below are comments made by ajmy06 between Friday, 9th May 2008 and Wednesday, 24th September 2008.

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All about Gordon 3:07pm on 24 Sep 2008 Having Sarah introduce Gordon wasn't the only American convention-inspired innovation.

Didn't Hillary, then Obama, say 'it's not about me, it's about you'?

I'm thinking GB's political future is more like Hillary's then Obama's though...curtailed against all expectations.
Context is everything 4:23pm on 30 Jul 2008 @ 20

He's not my favourite, but he gets the job done and is an effective communicator. - actually, his "not fit for purpose" phrase was THE phrase of the year, hehe - and he is better than some of the nonentities in this current Cabinet.

A Cabinet "of all the Talents" should be ALL talent, not bit talent and rest filler.
Context is everything 12:11pm on 30 Jul 2008 Bring it on!

Miliband's might not be everyone's dream PM, but

a.) he has to be better than Brown (ok, anyone could be)

b.) he has demonstrated serious intellect in recent interviews as well as the ability to communicate.

Also, I'm glad Harman has realised she didn't have a cat in hell's chance (I mean after her performance in PMQs a few weeks ago). I'm still shuddering at the prospect though.

The only chance of Brown turning things around - marginally - is a truly shocking reshuffle. Get rid of Darling, Smith, Browne and bring back Beckett, Clarke, Milburn and Reid (if they will accept!).

But I don't think Brown has the courage. He'll rather limp on for another two years believing there's been an international conspiracy against his premiership and that none of it is his own doing.
Scolari will ignore Ferguson's old tricks 1:29pm on 23 Jul 2008 It's interesting to see, after Scolari refusing the England job in part because of the British media, just how protective and sychophantic the media is being about Scolari.

He won with Brazil (with that team, surely not that difficult) and did a decent job with Portugal (again, not that difficult).

Let him prove himself first before we start to fawn over him!
'Sexed-up' evidence? 08:43am on 11 Jun 2008 This bill is a shameful act - brought in by a desperate Prime Minister in a desperate situation in need of a desperate fix. Brown has had some political bad luck - but this is political 'mud' of his own making.

Really, incentivizing/rewarding people for being a suspect is perverse. To do the whole thing for political reasons is a new low. Lower than the Iraq war and the dodgy dossier.

The fact the proponents of this have to string together ifs, buts and maybes is proof enough of how hollow this is.

When Brown welcomed Thatcher to Downing Street there was talk of him being a conviction politician. When he came into office, he promised to do his utmost. This is disingenueous politics at its worse - spin which could ultimately effect national security. Shame on your Mr Brown, and shame on any MP who is cowed into towing the Government line.
Opening up 10:41am on 09 May 2008 Poor Gordon, he can try and try and try but really he's doomed:

1. His fall from grace is even more dramatic because of his unexpected and somewhat artificial rise in popularity at the start of his 'term' of office.

2. Gordon isn't actually to blame for SOME of his predicament - some of it is bad luck. After 10 years in power, people will grow tired of you - Tony and Iraq/scandals saw to that one. Other problems will crop up which out of your control - the global meltdown thanks to dodgy dealings in America. Added to that, you can no longer blame the people before you for things going wrong - no matter how hard Gordon tries to do so at PMQs - and there is no escaping the blame for mistakes you made earlier in power.

3. Gordon has made mistakes/miscalculations of his own which are now coming to light and....

4. ...his character magnifies his problems because people can't warm to him/he can't brush them off with some Blairian act of smoothness. Plus, ANY failing from his government is reflected as his own personal failings - such as lost discs leading to labels of incompetence from him.

5. There is now, thus, a 'narrative' against Gordon - he could find the cure for cancer but people still wouldn't be persuaded as to his merits. The 'three Ds' - dithering, dull and defeat - have now attached themselves to him.

At the same time, the media mood is swinging towards Dave. Even he is talking about what he WILL (not would) do as PM WHEN (not if) the Tories are in power. Even if the media thinks he is a salesman, there is something tangible to attach themselves to compared with the soporific Gordon. If you look at the recent Radio 5 Live interview with Nicky Campbell, and now with Fern Britton - there is a real lack of respect for Gordon, even in capicity of PM - where journalists feel empowered enough to make personal attacks on him to his face. I mean, telling someone they're not human...pretty harsh (if true)!

6. To make things even worse, Gordon has lost authority in his own party and ministers and backbench MPs are making their own calculations in the face of despair - Bendy Wendy is a case in point.

7. Short of a major catastophe, however, he won't go soon because there isn't enough momentum or alternatives in his party to get him out. This is a long, slow painful death which we all must endure. Instead of renewal, we have the ultimate stagnation in government. Gordon, instead of being true to himself as many are urging, will try and be something and someone (Tony, anyone?) he's not for the rest of his days.

8. There is only one glimmer of hope for Gordon: the Conservatives, with increased attention on them - especially with Boris as Mayor, might yet mess up. The ball is in their court to establish themselves as the government-in-waiting and not the default alternative to Labour.

Dave, however, is playing his role well - becoming more authorative, striking the mood of the electorate, painting a black picture of Gordon. He will, despite his better instincts, have to flesh out policy more to defuse some of his critics. At least he offers vision though!

9. Chances are that Gordon will go down in history as a failure and - worse of all - by doing so, he'll make Tony look even shinier.

You've got to feel sorry for Gordon really. Well you would, if only he were human.

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