The Politics Thread

[sluffy]

From a country that looks like it is about to elect David Cameron as its next leader, the sniping at US Presidents intellectual abilities seems a tad insular.

Cameron obtained a first class honours degree from Oxford.

(Gordon Brown has a PhD in history from the University of Edinburgh).

Heatherdown Prep School
Eton College
Oxford

You can buy that sort of education in this country with the right connections- what piece of literary,philosophical, sociological or technological body of work has he produced?

What literary, philosophical, sociological or technological body of work has any Prime Minister ever produced?

I can only think of Churchill and his writings such as A History of the English-Speaking Peoples.

Can you name anyone else's works other than perhaps their Priministerial diaries?

As for Churchill's (possibly our greatest ever leader) education he was somewhat of a failure attending Harrow then Sandhurst where it took him three attempts to pass the entrance exam!

[Lord Kangana]

History of the English Speakng Peoples was a piece of propoganda designed to unite the Americans and Commonwealth in a common cause. Its a good read, but its got many inaccuracies, and a fair amount of poetic license. As has his history of the second world war.

[lovethesmellofnapalm]

Disraeli springs to mind. But you only prove my point. Our "ruling elite" has always (with the possible exception of Atlees government) been drawn from the same ruling class of inter-bred chinless wonders that have spawned the likes of Cameron. How many of the current crop of Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet members come from outside the public school educated clique? So for us to criticise another country's political leaders is a bit narrow minded imho

[sluffy]

Disraeli springs to mind. But you only prove my point. Our "ruling elite" has always (with the possible exception of Atlees government) been drawn from the same ruling class of inter-bred chinless wonders that have spawned the likes of Cameron. How many of the current crop of Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet members come from outside the public school educated clique? So for us to criticise another country's political leaders is a bit narrow minded imho

Disraeli was Prime Minister last in 1880 - so I think you point about Cameron not having produced a body of literary, philosophical, sociological or technological work is meaningless as no PM seemingly as in the following 128 years!

As for the ruling elite as per your definition - exceptions would include Harold Wilson who attended Royds Hall Secondary School, Huddersfield, Ted Heath - Chatham House Grammar School in Ramsgate, James Callaghan - Portsmouth Northern Secondary School, Margaret Thatcher - Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School, John Major - Rutlish Grammar School, Merton.

Blair of New-Labour fame actually went to Fettes College!

I would suggest that the facts do not support your argument (certainly not in the case of Prime Ministers).

I have not criticised another country's leaders - although I do not think your remark was intended for me.

[mummywhycantieatcrayons]

As for the ruling elite as per your definition - exceptions would include Harold Wilson who attended Royds Hall Secondary School, Huddersfield, Ted Heath - Chatham House Grammar School in Ramsgate, James Callaghan - Portsmouth Northern Secondary School, Margaret Thatcher - Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School, John Major - Rutlish Grammar School, Merton.

Harold Wilson also went to sixth form at Wirral Grammar. Must have made a quick impression, being appointed Head Boy within a year of getting there, as he was.


Of course, nobody argues for grammar schools anymore, not even my party.... more's the pity.

[mummywhycantieatcrayons]

From a country that looks like it is about to elect David Cameron as its next leader, the sniping at US Presidents intellectual abilities seems a tad insular.

Cameron obtained a first class honours degree from Oxford.

(Gordon Brown has a PhD in history from the University of Edinburgh).

Heatherdown Prep School
Eton College
Oxford

You can buy that sort of education in this country with the right connections- what piece of literary,philosophical, sociological or technological body of work has he produced?

You can't buy a first in PPE at Oxford, no matter what help you've had along the way to get there.

[Verbal]

From a country that looks like it is about to elect David Cameron as its next leader, the sniping at US Presidents intellectual abilities seems a tad insular.

Cameron obtained a first class honours degree from Oxford.

(Gordon Brown has a PhD in history from the University of Edinburgh).

Heatherdown Prep School
Eton College
Oxford

You can buy that sort of education in this country with the right connections- what piece of literary,philosophical, sociological or technological body of work has he produced?

You can't buy a first in PPE at Oxford, no matter what help you've had along the way to get there.

Aye you're reet, and to be fair to Cameron I doubt many universities publish alot of work from Batchelor degree students.

John Prescott went to university in Hull, didn't stop him doing quite well (in fact, quite a few people who graduate at Hull have gone on to be elected to the Commons

[mummywhycantieatcrayons]

Anyway, let's not leave Monty out - he'll be voting in a few days, I should imagine. Not for Mr Dion, I hope, but it seems that Stephen Harper's hopes of a Conservative majority government are trickling away by the day...

[Worthy4England]

Progress at last in the US. At least inside the apparently empty head of the Republican VP nominee, we now know there's a proper vindictive bitch screaming to get out.

Before anyone suggests that the report was "inconclusive", it did find that

Monegan's refusal to fire Wooten was not sole reason for his dismissal, but a contributing factor
Sarah Palin's acted within her rights as Governor of Alaska

And even given that she acted within her rights and that there were other factors surrounding the sacking of Wooten...

"I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110 (a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act," investigator Steve Branchflower concluded in the panel's 263-page report.

Sounds like just the sort of person you'd want running the country on the off chance that McCain doesn't make the full trip - unless of course you happened to be involved in legal proceedings against one of her family members, or maybe a friend, or maybe just someone who wrote an e-mail of support for her....

[a1]

Sounds like just the sort of person you'd want running the country on the off chance that McCain doesn't make the full trip - unless of course you happened to be involved in legal proceedings against one of her family members, or maybe a friend, or maybe just someone who wrote an e-mail of support for her....

who's to say the black democrat fella will ?

and no one ever said that about lyndon johnson when jfk was up for president. Folk voted for kennedy - they didnt not vote for him coz his vicepres was 'shit' ( lbj never got 2 terms).

folk vote for who they want...

if mccain does get in and die , she'll still let me use the internet.

if obama does get in and die, his number two will ban the internet coz people CAN commit copyright violations when downloading music and all his media bigwig mates might starve if britney's new LP gets copied too much.

[communistworkethic]

sarah palin in acting like any woman shocker!

[mummywhycantieatcrayons]

Monty, where are you - tell me that you won't be voting for this man!

http://playpolitical.typepad.com/goofs_ ... rt-th.html

[Worthy4England]

Monty, where are you - tell me that you won't be voting for this man!

http://playpolitical.typepad.com/goofs_ ... rt-th.html

[InsaneApache]

At last someone who can explain the inticacies of the current financial meltdown...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzJmTCYm ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXBcmqwT ... re=related

[blurred]

At any rate, she'd only be VP and JM is as fit as a fiddle.

While you may jest, is it not worrying on an enormous scale that the back-up to an almost octagenarian President (he would hit 80 before the end of a 2nd term? either way the feck*'s old) is someone who can't name a national newspaper or a supreme court ruling, and whose experience of foreign affairs extends to 'living next door to Russia', claiming Afghanistan is a 'neighbouring' country, and who hadn't met a foreign head of state until well after she was named as VP candidate?

Palin should be seen as reason alone not to vote for McCain.

[Lord Kangana]

They voted for Bush. Do you need any more reasons?

[mummywhycantieatcrayons]

Does Obama have any more experience of foreign affairs than Palin?

[boltonboris]

Does Obama have any more experience of foreign affairs than Stalin?

Changed..

I like(ish) the fella, and he's the best of a bad bunch

[Worthy4England]

Probably not, but he's not claimed to hold the moral high-ground on the basis that his mum and dad bought him an atlas when he was 3.

His running mate however is the current chairman of the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee...

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Probably not, but he's not claimed to hold the moral high-ground on the basis that his mum and dad bought him an atlas when he was 3.

Or, for that matter, attempted to justify not having a passport until the age of 43 because "I had a job".