Words almost fail me. Just when I thought Mark Oaten couldn't humiliate himself further, he proves me wrong. First he got his wife to give an interview to Hello Magazine, then he writes an article for the Sunday Times baring his soul by telling the world that going bald accounted for his rent boy escapade. Then he signs up to a fitness programme for the BBC. But today in the House of Commons I observed that he has either forgotten to shave or is growing a beard. Perhaps its the precursor to a hair transplant? Does he not realise that a period of silence and invisibility might be a better idea? Unless of course he has already decided to leave politics and is preparing for a post-parliamentary career as a professional object of celebrity curiosity. Believe it or not I feel desperately sorry for him. He's either getting some very bad advice from someone or he's ignored everything he ever learnt in his career in public relations. Can't someone in the LibDems explain to him what an utter arse he is making of himself?
14 comments:
I said it on Guido... When you fall from grace, especially in such a writhingly awkward fashion, the best option as Iain says is to disappear.
Public rehab of any kind makes cringe-worthy viewing. I just hope he spares us a blubbering on-air Oprah style commentry!
I thought Mrs Oaten was his beard.
Is that the sound of the bottom of a barrel being scraped I hear?
Come on Iain, I know you taking your blogging seriously and maintaining a high level of output is important to keep the readers hooked, but can you think of nothing better than having a go at Mark Oaten for growing a beard?
I don't think you read my piece properly. If you look back at what I have written about Mark Oaten you will see that I have been consistent in my advice to him - to keep quiet and work his passage. He' sunfortunately taking the opposite approach, which many LibDems (including Jonathan Calder) also find astonishing. I feel very sorry for the guy as I have always got on well with him. But he really does need to think things through and take the advice of people who have his best interests at heart. He's clearly not doing that at the moment.
'work his passage' - such a charming turn of phrase in the circumstances.
'work his passage' and 'utter arse of himself'. Such innuendo is beneath you. Beneath you - geddit?
Sign of the Times Iain. When you lose your job/reputation, you look, if you're well-known, for damage limitation in the form of a payday from the tabloids or participation in a TV "reality" show.
Oaten's an interesting case. He's still in a job, but if he's deselected by his local party and is kicked out by his wife, I can see him cashing in on a Sun/NOW story where he details his descent into sexual degradation.
Can't wait for all this.
I think you're right Iain. He's clearly desperate, underneath it all, and realises he's made a horrible series of mistakes and misjudgements. Perhaps - and I think you're sincere on this - the best thing to do is for people to ignore him and hope he goes away and does something - anything - which will cause the least possible embarrassment and pain to his family, who never asked for any of this.
I predict a stint in the jungle eating Kangaroo goolies and Red Ants for Mr Oaten. Unless that is he cracks and tells Ant and Dec, "I'm a sad loser, get me a job in the media worth 250k a year'....
I fail to see the problem in all of this, yes he is making an even bigger arse of himself, however that wont make much of a difference, his political career is over.
Maybe it says more about myself than Oaten, but I couldn't vote for the guy now knowing how deeply flawed he is, spectacular errors of judgement seem to fall out of him like his hair did over the last few years. He's just trying to grab as much cash as he can at present, then maybe he'll spend a few years on a beach somewhere, or maybe he'll do something else. Either way, it matters little what he does now personally. His party on the other hand should be agrieved at how silly he makes them look.
Mark Oaten got caught in some very embarassing circumstances. This has caused much merriment and derision, has probably ended his marriage and definately ended his career. While the rest of the world, including myself, have enjoyed poking fun at him, I'm sure that most people felt at least a twinge of sympathy for the guy. I mean who amongst us hasn't got some embarrasing skeleton in the cupboard?
Then he goes and begins a very public campaign to rehabilitate himself. Getting his wife to appear in Hello and then doing a Tricia/Jerry Springer style public confession himself may not have been very advisable, but at least he seemed to be demonstrating some sort of contrition. One could still feel some sympathy for the guy.
Sadly he's now blown that out of the water.
LibDem politicians are hardly nationally known faces at the best of times and Mark is clearly no fitness adonis. His only marketable asset, in terms of a tv fitness show, is his notoriety. Thus one can only conclude that he is using this temporary phenomenon, the very thing he sought to obtain our sympathy for, to enrich himself.
I'm sorry for Mrs Oaten and their kids, but with this tv show Mr Oaten has demonstrated that he is nothing more than a shameless, money-grubbing media whore. Any lingering sympathy I felt for his failures has evaporated to be replaced by contempt. I suspect I'm not the only person to feel the same way, either.
RM
I'm steadily coming to the view that Oaten is undergoing an existential crisis, not dissimilar to what happened to David Icke. A characteristic of these sorts of breakdowns is that you lose the ability to see yourself as others see you, and hence quite literally become unable to keep up appearances.
It reminds me a little of the incomparable 'Network'. It is rather like watching a car crash in slow motion as he appears to be having something very much like a breakdown under the arc lights.
Although he is on the Yellow team (boo hiss), he is an Orange Booker (yes?) and has been known to speak a degree of sense. Is there no-one out there who will save the poor man from himself?
He's attempting to be a Wierdy Beardy.
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