TV Debates

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martindtanderson
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James H wrote:He's had 13 years to train up for this election - he should be fucking better than this.
Gordon Brown obviously doesn't think a camera friendly persona is essential for doing his job. And you do!
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barcode
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DC, look week, he looked like he had no idea what was going on, and not sure of him self, he look like beaker form the muppets have the time.

GB, does not give two shits about look slick! as said 13 years and still he can be bothered with it, Mrs T never cared about being slick.

Maybe this is the same reason why I and many others hate Alex.
James H
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Gavin Scott wrote:
James H wrote:
martindtanderson wrote:You can't really blame Gordon Brown for his performance.
He's had 13 years to train up for this election - he should be fucking better than this.
Any fucking reason why you fucking need to swear whilst making a fucking point?

hmmm?

So - were you disappointed in Cameron, James?
Yes, I was. Not so much disappointed, as underwhelmed - but I got the feeling that Gordon Brown took it all as a bit of a joke. The little political pot-shots about Ashcroft and 'answer time, not question time' were pointless and made him look just that little bit more aloof.

Nick Clegg was surprising, although the cynical namechecks and the looking at the camera consistently put me a little bit ill-at-ease. It was a bit like watching the two minutes' hate.

And to those of you who don't believe being slick is important to being a leader (and pratt of the day goes to barcode, for talking about Thatcher not being slick); the ability to lead debates, to appear at ease and to perform well is crucial. Thatcher was a wonderful debater and you got the sense she was really pissed off at what was going on. Brown and Cameron seem to put it on for the cameras in PMQs (Cameron less so, he ends up repeating himself because Brown won't answer questions). Clegg? I don't know.

But yes, Gavin, I was disappointed in Cameron. I never said he was a wonderboy.
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Gavin Scott
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I still have no idea why you want to vote for him, but that's your prerogative. It seems you're content to vote for him because you hate others. Unless of course you can name some manifesto promises that you approve of?

He seemed oily and hollow, and his incessant thanking anyone and everyone who made an utterance made me feel queasy.

As for not answering questions - perhaps I could punt one back to you that Cameron managed to evade - do you honestly think he's being serious when he said he would maintain NHS spending at its current levels, yet would be able to save £6,000,000,000 in public spending "waste"? Back to two year waiting lists - you wait and see.

Here's another - does National Insurance not come from the pay packets of employed people, rather than from the employer?

I'll answer that - it does.

So why would Cameron reference this as "money taken out of the NHS" - when its actually comes out of the pockets of the staff?

Does he not have a basic understanding of the concept of NI contributions?

I didn't think he was a "wonderboy", but I imagined he had some basic grasp of tax.

Now I tend to think he's exactly what this man thinks he is.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/polit ... -22190243/

How's that for unnecessary swearing?
Alexia
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James H wrote:He's had 13 years to train up for this election - he should be fucking better than this.
Er... not quite. He's had 13 years to train for a traditional style election, but this is the first time that there has been TV debates. So (roughly) they've all had the same amount of time.

Of course, Cameron in his previous life was head of corporate affairs for Carlton and then ITV Digital. So he should know all about how TV works and what makes good television.
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Jamesypoo
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Alexia wrote:Carlton <snip> makes good television.
Meh.
barcode
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Mrs T was not a sly slimmy twat! unlike David C and of course Alex
Alexia
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Every time Nicola Sturgeon comes on the TV, I feel like punching something. Monst notably the TV.
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iSon
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So it looks as though the first election debate has had a big impact on what people think of the Lib Dems. The latest YouGov tracker poll puts the Tories on 33%, Lib Dems on 30% and Labour pushed down into third for the first time on 28%.

My personal view is that it won't last due to the fact that any party that makes such a huge gain overnight is going to be subjected to intense scrutiny. Interestingly, that poll if applied based on universal national swing would put Labour as the largest party in a hung party and give the Lib Dems around 100 seats. Labour may like this because it's another eventuality where Gordon Brown stays as PM and David Cameron is an outright victory.

It may not last, but I think it will create an interesting few days for the parties, and has *just* about made the election a little more interesting. Who knows, maybe we'll see Gordon remain as PM, joined by Vince Cable as Chancellor and Nick Clegg as Home Secretary.
Good Lord!
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WillPS
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Cameron totally misjudged this one, went in at all the wrong angles - the misleading attacks he so frequently launches just don't stand up when the leader is there to tell the public that what he's saying is mostly bullshit.

Brown, for all his passion is just a really difficult character to buy the same way the public bought up Blair.

Really hope Clegg can keep up the good work. I had the good fortune of attending a Q&A with him at Sheff. Uni and his style was just the same - a real vote winner.

Of course, it's likely that next week will be a totally different kettle of fish and Cameron in particular will have to buck his ideas up. I don't think Clegg is likely to get cocky though, as Chie infers - he is a man of principals and values, what you see is what you get.
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Chie
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Gavin Scott wrote:As for not answering questions - perhaps I could punt one back to you that Cameron managed to evade - do you honestly think he's being serious when he said he would maintain NHS spending at its current levels, yet would be able to save £6,000,000,000 in public spending "waste"? Back to two year waiting lists - you wait and see.
Ah, the great 18-week waiting list con.

When you present a specialist with a mild, non-fatal condition, they show you the door and tell you to return when the condition has deteriorated to such a state that you can hardly walk, work, see/hear, etc. Only then will they consider it bad enough to put you on the list for an operation.

So you could still be waiting two years, or even longer - but you'll only be on the official waiting list for the last 18 weeks.
WillPS wrote: Really hope Clegg can keep up the good work. I had the good fortune of attending a Q&A with him at Sheff. Uni and his style was just the same - a real vote winner.

Of course, it's likely that next week will be a totally different kettle of fish and Cameron in particular will have to buck his ideas up. I don't think Clegg is likely to get cocky though, as Chie infers - he is a man of principals and values, what you see is what you get.
Well, I'll lay my nutty feelings bare about Clegg: he's too angsty and self-righteous, a bit emotionally repressed and not particularly articulate. He's the kind of leader who would be in danger of becoming a dictator if he thought for one moment that he could (all the best dictators began political life as gobby socialists).

Go ahead and call me c-razy if you want to, but that's the impression I get.
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