http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/betsanpowys/2008/11/k_v_j.html en-gb 30 Tue 22 Dec 2009 21:32:23 GMT+1 A feed of user comments from the page found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/betsanpowys/2008/11/k_v_j.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/betsanpowys/2008/11/k_v_j.html?page=18#comment9 Betsan:I loved the title of the blog; and i hope that the ladies enjoy there meeting...~Dennis Junior~ Sat 27 Dec 2008 05:41:39 GMT+1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/betsanpowys/2008/11/k_v_j.html?page=16#comment8 'Latest odds neck-and-neck'.. Karl, the 'bwci' [bookie..] on Vaughan's blog, seems to think Kirsty is a short-head favourite.. All to play for... Mon 24 Nov 2008 22:20:09 GMT+1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/betsanpowys/2008/11/k_v_j.html?page=14#comment7 Hmm.. Kirsty looks impressive, but this may be down to her marketing of the 'Kirsty Williams Brand'..As we all know, having the best advertising doesn't necessarily mean having the best product. So is she a 'Bumptious BMW', a 'Super Skoda', an 'Awesome Audi', or a 'Volkswagen Vixen' ? Time will tell. Sun 23 Nov 2008 12:55:29 GMT+1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/betsanpowys/2008/11/k_v_j.html?page=12#comment6 Betsan - I hate to be a pedant (all right, no I don't), but could you please differentiate between 'better' and 'best'? If there are two candidates, then one is 'the better' not 'the best' - hence it should be 'may the *better* woman win' not (as so often heard) 'may the best woman win'"Good, better, best,never let it rest,till your good is better,and your better best." Fri 21 Nov 2008 11:25:10 GMT+1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/betsanpowys/2008/11/k_v_j.html?page=10#comment5 expolgareththomas, a point ....your ..... "Welsh Radical tradition",I would have thought "Welsh Nonconformist tradition".Dragon's Eye was a disappointment, I had hoped for spitting feathers but felt each were stroking the other with feather dusters, Kirsty Williams and Jenny Randerson that is. Thu 20 Nov 2008 21:57:52 GMT+1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/betsanpowys/2008/11/k_v_j.html?page=8#comment4 HerbertDavies - I can't quite understand this huge problem about the Lib Dems 'getting into bed' with the Tories - Nick Clegg is a Tory in all but name, and his economic policies were until recently somewhat to the right of ''Call Me Dave' Cameron.. So any idea that one would vote for a LibDem least likely to form an alliance with the Tories, when there is every chance that Nick Clegg would be a minister in a Conservative govt if there was a 'hung parliament' at the next General Election, seems based on a rather shaky presumption that the LibDems should be socialist in their outlook. I cannot see much evidence of it myself - and if Barack Obama pulls the troops out of Iraq, there won't be much difference on their foreign policy either ? Thu 20 Nov 2008 21:48:58 GMT+1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/betsanpowys/2008/11/k_v_j.html?page=6#comment3 I don't think either of them have a particularly "Welsh" appeal which as your colleague Vaughan has said on his blog is a weakness for their party. Its difficult to know what they stand for. They both seem rather careerist and metropolitan and I can't see how they can improve the fortunes of their party in Wales. The Tories have a more authentic Welsh image. I think JR is a rather more cedible and less bumptious figure. However it will be good to have a woman as a political leader in Wales. Aled Roberts is a rather more interesting politician and much more in tune with the Welsh Radical tradition which as we know has been and remains a surpringly durable cross party phenomenon. It's a shame he can't find a seat-isn't it time to ditch Elinor Burnham as the Lib Dem's No 1 list candidate in N Wales. Thu 20 Nov 2008 20:22:40 GMT+1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/betsanpowys/2008/11/k_v_j.html?page=4#comment2 Hi Betsan,'I was there' at the IWA and fascinating it was to watch the negotiation of the next coalition in 2011. Odd it was that Adam Price was worried about offerring voters 'a choice' as his justification for trying to bring the Tories into power last time and threatening to do it again next time. Funny kind of socialist Adam........As for Kirsty, apart from being a Llanelli girl with a genetic hatred for Tories, she has the minor problem of how to win her own seat if she cuddles up to Wales's historic bogeymen. She can't win without Ystradgynlais and do you think they will vote for a candidate likely to put the Tories back in charge? Its all positioning. First to win the leadership, then to get a good deal with Carwyn in 2011. Thu 20 Nov 2008 20:07:41 GMT+1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/betsanpowys/2008/11/k_v_j.html?page=2#comment1 Betsan, sorry, but there's more... I do love your blog and it is very informative and with a lovely tone of voice. But there are a couple of things which do drive me mental.. Basically they can be summarised as 'assuming a lot of previous knowledge'.. Not all of us can follow the 'soap opera' of Welsh politics as religiously as we'd like, so.. 1/ Please can you spell out acronyms first time you use them ? 2/ I know it should be obvious from the context which of the two is the 'Brecon and Radnor AM', but... 3/ I am now going to have to 'google' to find which is the 'rainbow' person and which is not... Sorry, I guess this blog is for people who are like 'Archers Addicts' and 'Eastenders fans', so having the 'bloke' coming in and asking ''Oos this.. "" and ''Whassat '' and ''Why she back innit?'' is annoying, but you know how it is - leave the story for a week or two and you are lost... Maybe you need a weekly 'omnibus' catch up, or a synopsis like they used to do on 'Soap', Confused, you won't be... Thu 20 Nov 2008 19:15:16 GMT+1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/betsanpowys/2008/11/k_v_j.html?page=0#comment0 Kirsty Williams sounds hideously bumptious and metropolitan to me, and if she has dared to use age as a weapon on some younger than John Sergeant, then she deserves to be toasted by the voters. However, painful though it is to admit, I would have to prefer her over Jenny Randerson, for this comment alone from JR..."Bill Bryson's books are all well written with great insight and humour." Anyone so totally lacking in literary taste to hoover up that trash [and Midsomer Murders!] is not helping her cause at all... In a sense they do represent the Lib Dems well, because they garner votes from people who look at the two available main options and think 'None of the above..' Thu 20 Nov 2008 19:07:10 GMT+1