Nick Cluggerrand, hope or hype?

[claig]

Have just watched the Andrew Marr interview with Nick Clegg. Feel like I have been accosted by a fast-talking snake oil salesman. Mr. Sharkey, the ex-boss of Saatchi and Saatchi, has been advising Clegg to speak more slowly. It looks like Clegg has ditched this good advice, and is instead hell bent on speaking as fast as he possibly can in an attempt to befuddle the voter and disguise the tenuousness of his grasp on policy. Is Clegg's best strategy now to limit his exposure, bask in his glory and button his lip?

The more quickly he talks, the more surely the voters will start to walk.

Claig I saw the interview too. Talks fast to get through uncomfortable subjects. His posterior must be getting awfully painful from all that fence sitting on who they will support in the event of a hung parliament. In my view they are becoming a little arrogant and opaque over their potential kingmmaker status. They may have a rude shock come May 7th in that their services may not be required

I don't see "fence sitting" as you put it as a big problem.

Until the numbers come out, and discussions can be had, there's far too little point in speculating about what might or might not be possible. So criticism is also rather pointless.

The other parties are bullish about their own prospects, and will probably need to consider scrapping / adjusting some of their own policies (which if suggested today, they'd categorically deny, of course).

The media are pushing the prospect, perhaps to have something to ask about, because half of the time the parties seem unable to justify claims they make, either for how they have come up with criticisms of some other party's policy, or how their own proposals can be funded / savings made.

It's quite boring at times to hear people like John Prescott moan about the media and their questions rather than answer with facts. (Mind you, I think he has the power, working alone, to reduce votes for Labour.)