political commentator * author * publisher * bookseller * radio presenter * blogger * Conservative candidate * former lobbyist * Jack Russell owner * West Ham United fanatic * Email iain AT iaindale DOT com
Monday, August 14, 2006
Political Gaffes Article
Thanks to all those who left comments about political gaffes. My article is HERE in today's Eastern Daily Press.
10 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Ace ! Liked the comment about 'foot in mouth disease'..
I take it you will be taking all of us down the pub Friday lunchtime ? All the best.
I hate to admit to advancing years, but at my age the Roger Freeman / Steve Norris comments are starting to sound sensible.
I know many secretaries who are savvy and canny enough to get maximum 'vfm' [value for money], and we can all appreciate the difference between 'cheap & cheerful' and 'cheap & nasty'.
Steve's comments annoyed me at the time, as I was being virtuous and travelling on the bus into work. But now when I travel on the train it is impossible to get any peace and quiet from mobiles & stereos..
My own favourite comes from Scandinavia: when the merger of the Swedish and Norwegian telecon companies collapsed in late 1999 amidst much political acrimony, the Swedish minister involved, Bjorn Rosengren, interviewed on NRK (the Norwegian BBC), had a Bush/Blair G8 microphone moment. Unaware that he was still live, he offered the view that Norwegian intractability was only to be expected from the "last Soviet state in Europe ...."
Talk about 'foot in mouth', or is it just my warped and cynical view... Fawcett calls on David Cameron to do more on women candidates (11/08/06) http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk//index.asp?PageID=350
Why no Blair gaffes such as "there will be no tax rises" or "this dossier is detailed and authoritative" or "Iraq possesses WMD and is a clear threat" or "we had nothing to do with the release of Dr. Kelly's name" or "48hrs to save the NHS" or "the best economic performance of any government" or "tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime" or etc etc ad nauseum. Hang on perhaps these are not really gaffes but lies?
Pity the EDP piece came out two days before this (from today's Times)
August 15, 2006
Terrier kills off his master's day out By David Sanderson
It was meant to be a fun time at the fair for MP Andrew Turner, drumming up votes and meeting the locals . . . until Bert caught sight of prey
IT WAS an ideal opportunity for the local MP to shore up his personal vote as he paraded his extended family through the constituency’s county show. But Bert, his Jack Russell terrier, had other ideas.
As Andrew Turner, the Conservative MP for the Isle of Wight, strolled through the crowds, Bert broke free from his lead and sank his teeth into Socks, a polecat being taken for a walk near by.
Despite the efforts of four people equipped with a bucket of cold water, nine-year-old Bert savagely shook Socks from side to side.
By the time he was forced to relinquish his grip, it was too late. Socks was so badly injured by the mauling that a vet had to put him down.
Mr Turner, the Shadow Minister for Charities, apologised to Socks’s owner Patricia Price, a member of the island’s ferret club. He said his pet was usually “lovely and affectionate”.
“Terriers were bred to catch rats, rabbits and similar animals,” he said. “You can’t train them out of it.”
Miss Price, 52, a teacher from East Cowes, was resigned about the mauling her beloved four-year-old Socks had received, saying it was an unfortunate accident. She said she recognised that Bert was only obeying his instincts.
Mr Turner said there was little he could do to stop Bert once he caught sight of Socks, who was being exercised on a harness.
He told The Daily Telegraph that as he emerged from a crowded tent Bert’s lead had become entangled with that of his other dog Pickles. “I was trying to disentangle them and Bert obviously felt the lead go slack at the same time as he saw the polecat about 20 yards away. He was on to it before I could stop him.”
Miss Price, who owns four ferrets which she had been preparing to race in the show’s ferret racing event, said that she instantly knew who her pet’s attacker was.
“I saw the dog and knew whose it was. It had the polecat in his mouth and was shaking it.
“By the second shake it was too late. The shock had overpowered Socks’s mental abilities. One fellow managed to get his hand inside the dog’s mouth but could not get him to release his grip. The dog’s instincts just took over and you can’t blame him for that.
“Many people knew Socks because he was a bit different. He was quite unusual in that he had distinctive white feet and we took him to all the shows. He was a well-loved pet and enjoyed running on his lead.”
The incident was a dramatic fall from grace for Bert, who two years ago had won the terrier racing competition at the annual Agricultural Society show.
Mr Turner is undoubtedly thankful that his comfortable 13,000 majority in the constituency should ensure that the incident does not lead to his electoral decapitation.
Polecats mark their territory with a foul smell emitted from scent glands at the base of their tail, which led to the term being used in Shakespearean times to describe someone of an unpleasant character.
They were once heavily persecuted by gamekeepers on account of their well-earned reputation for killing chickens.
Unfortunately for Socks, their ability to see off a Jack Russell terrier is not as well-honed
10 comments:
Ace ! Liked the comment about 'foot in mouth disease'..
I take it you will be taking all of us down the pub Friday lunchtime ? All the best.
I hate to admit to advancing years, but at my age the Roger Freeman / Steve Norris comments are starting to sound sensible.
I know many secretaries who are savvy and canny enough to get maximum 'vfm' [value for money], and we can all appreciate the difference between 'cheap & cheerful' and 'cheap & nasty'.
Steve's comments annoyed me at the time, as I was being virtuous and travelling on the bus into work. But now when I travel on the train it is impossible to get any peace and quiet from mobiles & stereos..
"Defenestration"
Well DONE, dear chap - that's a word that doesn't get out as much as it deserves to.
Tres amusant Mr Dale!
My own favourite comes from Scandinavia: when the merger of the Swedish and Norwegian telecon companies collapsed in late 1999 amidst much political acrimony, the Swedish minister involved, Bjorn Rosengren, interviewed on NRK (the Norwegian BBC), had a Bush/Blair G8 microphone moment. Unaware that he was still live, he offered the view that Norwegian intractability was only to be expected from the "last Soviet state in Europe ...."
Talk about 'foot in mouth', or is it just my warped and cynical view...
Fawcett calls on David Cameron to do more on women candidates (11/08/06)
http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk//index.asp?PageID=350
Why no Blair gaffes such as "there will be no tax rises" or "this dossier is detailed and authoritative" or "Iraq possesses WMD and is a clear threat" or "we had nothing to do with the release of Dr. Kelly's name" or "48hrs to save the NHS" or "the best economic performance of any government" or "tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime" or etc etc ad nauseum. Hang on perhaps these are not really gaffes but lies?
Iain, a lot of those gaffes are actually politicians voicing the truth.
A shame that you decide to raise them and potentially discourage discussion.
Don't think Ridley was the "Bow doors" gaffer. Willie Waldegrave?
Pity the EDP piece came out two days before this (from today's Times)
August 15, 2006
Terrier kills off his master's day out
By David Sanderson
It was meant to be a fun time at the fair for MP Andrew Turner, drumming up votes and meeting the locals . . . until Bert caught sight of prey
IT WAS an ideal opportunity for the local MP to shore up his personal vote as he paraded his extended family through the constituency’s county show.
But Bert, his Jack Russell terrier, had other ideas.
As Andrew Turner, the Conservative MP for the Isle of Wight, strolled through the crowds, Bert broke free from his lead and sank his teeth into Socks, a polecat being taken for a walk near by.
Despite the efforts of four people equipped with a bucket of cold water, nine-year-old Bert savagely shook Socks from side to side.
By the time he was forced to relinquish his grip, it was too late. Socks was so badly injured by the mauling that a vet had to put him down.
Mr Turner, the Shadow Minister for Charities, apologised to Socks’s owner Patricia Price, a member of the island’s ferret club. He said his pet was usually “lovely and affectionate”.
“Terriers were bred to catch rats, rabbits and similar animals,” he said. “You can’t train them out of it.”
Miss Price, 52, a teacher from East Cowes, was resigned about the mauling her beloved four-year-old Socks had received, saying it was an unfortunate accident. She said she recognised that Bert was only obeying his instincts.
Mr Turner said there was little he could do to stop Bert once he caught sight of Socks, who was being exercised on a harness.
He told The Daily Telegraph that as he emerged from a crowded tent Bert’s lead had become entangled with that of his other dog Pickles. “I was trying to disentangle them and Bert obviously felt the lead go slack at the same time as he saw the polecat about 20 yards away. He was on to it before I could stop him.”
Miss Price, who owns four ferrets which she had been preparing to race in the show’s ferret racing event, said that she instantly knew who her pet’s attacker was.
“I saw the dog and knew whose it was. It had the polecat in his mouth and was shaking it.
“By the second shake it was too late. The shock had overpowered Socks’s mental abilities. One fellow managed to get his hand inside the dog’s mouth but could not get him to release his grip. The dog’s instincts just took over and you can’t blame him for that.
“Many people knew Socks because he was a bit different. He was quite unusual in that he had distinctive white feet and we took him to all the shows. He was a well-loved pet and enjoyed running on his lead.”
The incident was a dramatic fall from grace for Bert, who two years ago had won the terrier racing competition at the annual Agricultural Society show.
Mr Turner is undoubtedly thankful that his comfortable 13,000 majority in the constituency should ensure that the incident does not lead to his electoral decapitation.
Polecats mark their territory with a foul smell emitted from scent glands at the base of their tail, which led to the term being used in Shakespearean times to describe someone of an unpleasant character.
They were once heavily persecuted by gamekeepers on account of their well-earned reputation for killing chickens.
Unfortunately for Socks, their ability to see off a Jack Russell terrier is not as well-honed
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