It’s here. Behold your Mayor, London:

Please tell me this is inexperience and not his typical managerial style. I could understand the former, but the latter would mean he’d crossed the line between delegation and utter cluelessness…

(Hat tip: Mr. Stop Boris)

Compare and contrast with Obama’s first TV ad:

Isn’t that much, much better? Well filmed, a positive (if fairly empty) message and clever imagery. Obama, relaxed in the home; a family man, then. Obama as a smiling baby with smiling parents; a normal child, not the raging fanatic indoctrinated by Islamists, Ms. Malkin. Obama, relaxed as a young man in his leather jacket; contrast this with the angry, ageing McCain. Obama with old, white people, smiling and laughing; so a caring figure able to cross racial and generational boundraries, and most definitely not a Muslim, Ms. Malkin. Some of the imagery can be very subtle in what it suggests.

More than the words, at least; they’re fairly meaningless when it gets down to it, central statements of commonly held values. But that’s the point. They paint an everyman for everyman. Note phrases such as “we didn’t have much” - connecting with less wealthy voters while countering accusations of elitism. It’s all a deliberate attempt to connect Obama’s experience and values with the voters he’s appealing to. And it’s done well.

Critics might label the ad vacuous trash which lacks any solid content or useful indication of Obama’s intentions for the presidency. But they miss the point; the ad isn’t about policy or plans, it’s about Obama and his appeal across races and generations. It’s an image thing, and it’s done very well.

Let the shitstorm commence! Another Republican attack ad:

And guess what? It’s as weak as the first. One question will do for the moment, I think; if Obama is such a dangerous Muslim, then why make such a fuss about his (Christian) pastor? He can’t be a fanatical liberation Christian and a closet fanatical Muslim at the same time.

Oh, and of course there’s the obvious question - why would having a Muslim childhood matter? It’s clear that it does to them, otherwise they’d have never hurled accusations of secret Jihadi childhood indoctrination at him in the first place. Obama rejected those slurs (and perhaps should have put to the nation the rather ridiculous image of Islamist ideologues renowned for their hatred of the United States priming a child…to run for president of the nation they hate so much…) rather than the notion that, at one point, he went to an Islamic school. So, a poor spot recycling old, old campaigning excrement.

Verdict: Must do better next time, vaunted Republican shit-stirrers. Or face relegation from “Nasty Party” to just plain old “Stupid Party”…

It seems that deprived of the harsh eloquence of Rove the best the fabled “Republican Attack Machine” can muster is a good natured sense of slighted mild annoyance and gentle mockery:

I can understand them feeling spurned but they should make their desire to have the most charismatic politician of the decade a little less apparent in future.

Perhaps the national ads will be a bit more vicious.

At 967,456 views and counting:

It’s perhaps a little too close to reality to be comfortable satire…

Also; apologies for the lack of posts this weekend. Recorded repeats of the 1979 election, mental flabbiness and an persistent inability to remember Keats all interfered.

Political Bettinghas reminded me of the infamous October interview with Andrew Marr.  Calling off the election that he had never called was an unbelievably stupid move from Gordon Brown - probably his most stupid move to date.  Indeed, during the interview, he talks over Marr as he asks “You don’t think you’ve lost your moment?”

Challenged over the brilliantly successful Tory party conference weekend, Brown tries to discredit the Tory tax announcements:

Let me just say, we will win an election because when you come to dissect these Conservative policies - i-if you throw £5bn at a problem, you know, 2p on income tax, on a problem, and do not show how you are going to fund it, then for a short moment you can persuade people that you’ve got a policy.  But when it comes to the forensic job of dissecting that policy, it will be found that the Conservative policy not only doesn’t add up, but it leads to economic disarray.

A mere eight months later, Brown is willing to get Britain £2.7bn further into debt in order to bribe the electorate of Crewe.  “For a short moment you can persuade people that you’ve got a policy… economic disarray” - indeed so, Prime Minister.  I would laugh, but it’s just not funny. Watch from 2mins 10secs.

Unfortunately when attempting to defend Bush this gentleman forgot some minor historical details. This is revealed half-way through this video in a fashion reminiscent of Paxman on Howard, only far more hilarious:

It’s pretty strong stuff. Shock tactics like these are often criticised as being too shocking - but surely that’s the point? Torture is horrific. The best way to get that across is by demonstrating clearly just how horrific it is. If people are put off, it won’t be from Amnesty - who exist to oppose torture - but from torture itself.

(Hat tip for the video: Iain Dale)

Please be fake, please be fake, please be fake…

I think I’ve just seen the video of the Mayoral campaign:

(Hat tip: Tory Troll)