I tried...

[smokingboot]

but even my natural powers of bloody-mindedness couldn't stay the distance on last night's election debate. Dear oh dear.

In the limited time I could bear to watch our stuffed shirts trying out their telegenic charisma or lack of it on a baffled audience, it seemed clear that Nick Clegg came off best, not that anybody benefited from ITV's desperate attempt at copying the American model. You could almost hear the judges:

Nick; nice, very natural, now say something.

David; are you actually made of wax? For christ's sake, talk faster. You used all your time taking deep breaths for a long speech no-one would let you give.

Gordon; don't tell other people to answer questions you aren't answering yourself, don't hector or heckle - remember those headlines about you being an angry bully in no 10? Don't prove them right - and above all, don't hop from foot to foot when you're excited. It just looks weird.

Comments

[steve-c.livejournal.com]

Nobody benefited? Over ten million people watched it, got to hear more about policy than they would likely have done before, and it seems to have had a significant impact on the polls. In fact, the data seem to suggest that most people found it an worthwhile and interesting debate.

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

Hindsight seems to have proved the wisdom of your words! Got to concede, everyone is talking about it, and that must be to the good. I will certainly be tuning into the next two debates to see if they improve. My problem is that they didn't really discuss anything!

Take Nick's regional ID cards for skilled economic immigrants for example. So, what if said immigrant's employers want to send them from Newcastle to London? How much is this going to cost and how do we enforce it? Hmmm...

Or David on crime rates, that nice neat answer of harsher longer crime sentences...our prisons are already bursting at the seams, with every convict costing approximately £400 a day to keep. Another hmmm. I won't shoot down Gordon's performance, as it's too easy.

Do we get anywhere near the real problems? No, we get a quick charisma test. So I should moderate my words to mean that I doubt any substantial benefit to the voter has resulted. But at least next time, I will rally my inner fortitude and try to stick out the debate?

[steve-c.livejournal.com]

These debates, and the manifestos, can only sketch out a policy and give you an idea of the ideology behind it. For detail you have to read policy papers.

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

If a sketch is too rough, you won't get any idea of what it depicts.I agree, the viewer wants palatable bytes, but at this stage, the candidates could promise anything and get away with it if the smile is right. OK, the debates don't have time to dig deep, but surely we can dig deeper than this!

[hybridartifacts.livejournal.com]

It seems to have energised some more Lib Dem support -which in my eyes is a positive thing since I reckon they are the only rational choice. Why vote for either Labour (wreaked our economy, destroyed our rights and freedoms, arrogant and believe they deserve power while using it to line their own pockets) or the Conservatives (wreaked our economy, destroyed our rights and freedoms, arrogant and believe they deserve power while using it to line their own pockets)?

So far as I see it the Lib Dems are the closest thing to genuine conviction based politicians with real ideals and ideas we have.

Having said all that - I couldn't stay the distance with the debate either. It was far too formal for me.

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

Strange wasn't it? So dead, terrified candidates, zombified audience (OK, scrub that, an audience of zombies would have made it much more lively) and Alasdair thing acting like the victim of a journalist/rottweiler brain transplant. Dear oh dear.

I can't vote for Labour, cos I detest the ID card thing, I hate the multiplcation of NuCrimes under NuLabour, and I hate the way they are creating an infrastructure so perfect for a police state.

I remember too much about the Tories to trust them with my vote; plus I came across the Mail's How much about the Lib Dem leader is really British ? attack on Nick Clegg, reminding me that Little Shitain is still out there, picking its nose in some far away though never quite far away enough boreshire. The headline persuaded me more than any debate. No my blue friends, not while you have support like this.

The Lib Dems, well, dunno. I need more tangibles regarding their plans. All very photogenic. Now tell me about the costs.

At this time, I am very likely to vote Green.

[hybridartifacts.livejournal.com]

Actually the Lib Dems are the only party to even attempt to cost their plans - its all laid out in the back of their manifesto. Everybody else is big on talk but not giving specifics.

My only negative with them is their stance on the post office and ideally I would love to them just re-nationalise all the countries infrastructure, but that isn't going to happen from any of them.

It's PR thats the clincher for me - I would love it if one day I actually a vote. Its crazy - but I live in what passes for a democracy and my vote has been utterly worthless my entire adult life simply because of where I live. As a voter I might as well not exist. My 'choice has been to vote Conservative and get a Conservative, or Vote Lib Dem and get a Conservative, or Vote Labour and get a Conservative. Thus my vote is irrelevant, and politically I am not a part of a real democracy.