Politicians are odd, aren't they?

tabskitten

I was going to post an opinion on this thread......

But then i realized that the topic was politics so decided not to waste my fingers......:)

Kohoutek

LizEstelle wrote: »

Or a representative from your friendly, neighbourhood Al-Qaeda branch.

Methinks the OP has forgotten both that we are dealing with the Prime Minister and that the times we are living through are none too genteel...

Perhaps he shouldn't have co-operated with the American conquest of the Middle East that has killed one million people then...I think it was probably foreseeable that that could rebound on us badly.

Cleaver

LizEstelle wrote: »

Good.

Shame that your eminently sensible feel for fair play does not manifest itself in the OP.

Actually, I don't know what I'm having to portray some sort of neutrality on this. Maybe it is an anti-Brown thread. My opinion is that he acted like a complete tool, so maybe I am being 'anti' him. There doesn't really have to be any fair play in opinions.

LizEstelle

Cleaver wrote: »

Rubbish.

then Brown comes out and points out that he took the time to talk to someone about what he thought was a genuine issue and they turned out to be a liar. I think the public would sympathise with him on that.

... except that in the meantime, Mr Murdoch has his intended, juicy quote to splash in tomorrow's Sin...

Get real.

Cleaver

LizEstelle wrote: »

Or a representative from your friendly, neighbourhood Al-Qaeda branch.

Again, that's rubbish. There are twenty TV cameras around, about 5 bouncers and he's in a very public place. The guy is being quite respectful - no swearing, no abuse and no sign of being pyshical. Brown should stop and have a chat with him.

Neighbourhood Al-Queda branch? What on earth are you talking about?

LizEstelle wrote: »

Methinks the OP has forgotten both that we are dealing with the Prime Minister and that the times we are living through are none too genteel...

Maybe my mind has gone blank, but can you remind me of a time where a Prime Minister of the UK, or indeed a leader of a mainstream party, has ever been physically attacked on the street? They meet tens of thousands of people on the campaign trail, and I can't recall any issues.

What's the point of having a squad of bouncers if you can't even have a chat with a bloke in an anorak about his kid's school?

Cleaver

LizEstelle wrote: »

... except that in the meantime, Mr Murdoch has his intended, juicy quote to splash in tomorrow's Sin...

Get real.

So, let me get this straight.

Our elected politicians can't have any conversations with anyone they don't know during this election campaign in case they are either 'representatives of the neighbourhood Al-Qaeda branch' or undercover reporters for the Sun?

They should just grin in an inane way at everyone and wave, right? Just to be on the safe side? And if someone asks them a questions, they just smile at them and not say a word?

fc123

I remember John Major doing the 'soapbox' campaign in the 90's (I think at the election that everyone thought they'd lose?) and it seemed a popular approach at the time. I always felt he was quite a genuine bloke on the whole.

The parties rely on an army of unpaid volunteers to canvass people and those at the 'top' do telly and radio instead.

I remember chatting to Heseltine when we had a market stall....got to be in 1986 (?)and he was walking around answering everyones questions, got some abuse and heckling. He asked me what my plans for my market stall were and what things did I feel would help and so on.

treliac

LizEstelle wrote: »

... about the 'party of spin and PR'...

... and how this could never, ever, heaven forfend, be an anti-Brown thread...?

My values and principles are predominantly socialist, but there's no party out there for me to vote for that I can really feel confident about. The Labour party, as it's become, is a long, long way from what I want for this country. And as far as I can see, they've cornered the market in spin and PR.

I'm prepared to go for change and see what it brings. I can't see that things can get worse than they've been under this government.

Aspiring_Writer

Cleaver wrote: »

Rubbish.

It doesn't matter if it's an undercover Sun reporter (although it clearly wasn't), if Brown is happy with what he's talking about then he can have a conversation about it. What are the two outcomes? Either Brown still disagrees with the man and tells him respectfully after hearing his issue that there isn't anything he can do, or he hears that the guy has genuinely been hard done by and promises to get someone to look in to the issue for him.

And if he did take the time to talk to him, and it turned out to be an undercover reporter, then Brown comes out and points out that he took the time to talk to someone about what he thought was a genuine issue and they turned out to be a liar. I think the public would sympathise with him on that.

Absolutely correct. Gordon Brown makes a big deal out of his background and being an honest son of a Preacher blah blah

So why cant he do as the OP suggested? yes the media are tricky sods but a degree of personality God forbid would do this charmless cretin a world of good.

Blair and Thatcher were both excellent with people as was Clinton, Brown just doesn't have it.

So there

Cleaver

fc123 wrote: »

I remember chatting to Heseltine when we had a market stall....got to be in 1986 (?)and he was walking around answering everyones questions, got some abuse and heckling. He asked me what my plans for my market stall were and what things did I feel would help and so on.

What an idiot. It would have been far more sensible for him to completely ignore you and not utter a single word, just in case you were a sleeper member of a terrorist cell or a tabloid journalist looking to get a scoop with a disrespectful comment about your stall.