Cut Gordon Brown some slack!
Tomorrow’s election in the UK is critical.
David Cameron (Conservative) was comfortably ahead of Gordon Brown (Labour) just months ago. And Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrat) was far behind.
Then they had a US-style televised debate where Clegg charmed viewers, and now there’s a possibility, God help us, that he could win.
This could mean a radical change in the special relationship between the UK and America, with Clegg bowing and pandering Obama-style to Europe.
Clegg’s surge is IMHO a good reason not to have televised debates, which give an advantage to slick pretty-boys, and a disadvantage to anyone remotely cerebral.
We’ve been cursed with these sound-bite charades since 1960. Why Britain chose to introduce them after all these years is beyond me.
Earlier tonight, PBS aired a parade of British voters saying they weren’t “excited” about Brown’s appearances or “leadership.”
Since I regularly watch Prime Minister’s Question Time on C-Span, I wonder if I don’t have a better feel for Brown’s qualities than a lot of these UK voters.
(God knows US voters are criminally uninformed when they vote, and I’m sure the UK is working to catch up. With TV debates now a major factor, you can deduct another 20 points from the collective IQ.)
Brown is smart, albeit not as engaging as Tony Blair, and acquits himself well when being questioned on a bewildering array of subjects from his critics on the right and left.
True, so have previous prime ministers. Their system puts more emphasis on having political leaders who can think on their feet instead of making canned statements.
(In contrast to Obama, for example, always with a background of adoring listeners or other props, like “doctors” issued white coats before they’re allowed to sit in the Rose Garden and listen to him blather about health care.)
But the other factor is reported to be Gordon Brown’s comments after a voter encounter, where he forgot his mike was still on after he got in his car.
I heard the entire audio clip. What’s the worst thing he said? “That bigoted woman.” And for this he had to call on her and apologize!
So people are offended by that, compared to Crazy Joe Biden’s obscenity when he didn’t know his mike was on? Or pinhead Carl Levin producing a whole string of comments that had to be bleeped while he was grilling a witness at his House committee?
Naturally, I’d prefer to see Tory David Cameron win.
But for God’s sake, Brits, give Gordon Brown a break on this tempest-in-a-teapot.
You don't need a UK equivalent of John Edwards.
