rebeccariots2 wrote:ErnstRemarx wrote:Just watched (much) of the Miliband leader's debatey thing. I kept thinking why are you hedging? Why aren't you fully embracing these young people? I like him but that didn't do him a lot of favours, unless the other party leaders turn out to be rather worse.
Having probably pissed everyone off, I'll say why. The 'thumb of power' is Folleting, no more no less. Do away with it. All the bloody hand gestures add nothing to the argument. "It's an incredibly important question" - that's why the poor sod asked it! Don't tell them that it's important, they wouldn't have asked if it wasn't inportant to them! AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!
I felt that that performance was not what wanted to hear from Miliband, and were I young again (hah!), I certainly would have been pushing rather harder if I were in that audience.
There'sclearly been to much meeja training in his background. It will not work. I want unvarnished Ed Miliband. I might not like all of it, but I suspect I'll think it better than the one on show earlier.
NB - where policy was announced, it got the thumbs up, I'm talking about different things.
Agree with all of that Ernst. The importance of not saying something is important over and over again is very important. I hope Ed watches it back and sees where he works well and where he doesn't ... There's a lot of good to be built on. But I think you, seeingclearly and I are probably pretty much in agreement - be yourself Ed, strip it all back a bit, forget the stock phrases - enjoy the company and the debate.
On another tack ... I see two of the issues raised have now been featured as post debate news reports / headlines. Votes for 16 and 17 year olds - and buffer zones to protect women attending abortion clinics.
Why not simply say "Yeah, I get that", "That's where I'm going", "It's already in the mix, it'll be law", "Young people simply deserve the vote, it boosts democracy", etc, etc. Christ I've just scripted better responses than I heard this evening.
I'm probably being grumpy, but if I spoke to people locally like that, I'd expect a brush off. I fell into politics by mistake (pushy missus, of course - please assume ironic smiley) and so I find it hard to flannel and impossible to use the prepackaged phrases that piss me off so much. If I can't give an immediate answer, I simply tell punters that I
will find out and let them know, that's the promise.
I don't do the Thumb of Power or any of the rest of that shite, which is probably why it's bloody Chuka smoothychops Ummuna sat there gurgling nonsense to a hostile meeja rather than me. No, I correct myself; I wouldn't even try to become an MP with my extreme lefty views. No doubt Region would intervene, bar me and impose a shortlist that disqualified me.
Ah well, 4500 Xmas cards to deliver in the ward before 25th December - oh be still my beating heart.