Mandelson’s lines to take for the press

AndyM

He may be good at manipulating the media but the public will always see him as the detestable, untrustworthy creature that he is.

Rhoda Klapp

Oh, give over, do.

Publius

"The master of media manipulation has finally worked out how to manipulate the media for his own benefit."

Do you exclude yourself from this gullible pack, Mr Forsyth?

Mark C

We still not fooled.

Malcolm

Why are the press so obsessed with Lord Fumblebum of Boy? He craves publicity, so why pander to him? In his case a fairly long period of complete abstinence would do us good, and get him worried.

adrian drummond

'The master of media manipulation has finally worked out how to manipulate the media for his own benefit'.

And as a consequence we, the public, pay the price.

I dislike the man intensely.

Tiberius

How about this for a quotable line:

Mandelson is a puff of wind with a history of dishonesty to rival any of the convicted Tory villains of the 1990s. It is a notable feature of today's media in Britain that they have so little between their ears that they can't help reaching out to the coat tales of a man they seem to think possesses qualities usually attributed to the Divinity.

THX1138

You sure it wasn't a spat with The Coffee House rather than Starbucks, after all Fraser is always blogging UK economy down and you all seem rather obsessed with Mandy

If Fraser predictions had been right the £ would be now worth diddly-squat and we'd be pan-handling at the IMF for a few billion instead the GBP buys 1.65 USD the FTSE is at a 3 mth high and keep going up, house prices are stabilising and unemployment slowing down... Maybe the worst is over!

Stephen

And we should care about this??

logdon

"The master of media manipulation has finally worked out how to manipulate the media for his own benefit."

The Slimedog Millionaire?

Verity

To be candid, James, the only people who think he is good copy are Lord Lenthy of Pretentious title himself and the press.

Everyone here seems to be mildly baffled that anyone would think that this twice-disgraced, unappealing individual could be classified as "interesting", never mind clever.

The press are handing him his successes on a plate.

TrevorsDen

So basically Mandelson is saying "I'm a tw@t, but I'm funny with it" ??

Is this the limit of the interrogation the media is going to give this man ??
Basically given all the committees he is on he is running the country and Brown is now just a robot following Mandelson's commands. So the media treat him like Jimmy Jewell to Browns Archie Rice??

Alan Scott

THX 1138:
Please don't mislay your rose-tinted telescope; your visions keep us all happy. Oh, and share the prescription, please.

Gabriel O'Malley

Its true that journalists are falling over themselves to ensure that Peter Mandelson is never off the front pages and that his mediocre utterances are treated as the height of wit and political acumen. Presumably they are genuinely impressed but I'm not. He's sold his soul for a mess of pottage and no matter how much favourable publicity he gets he'll never be seen by the general public as anything other than a sleazy overblown creep.

Ivy Eileen

Green tea, his diet, blah blah. What is this drivel ? This is worse than "Hello" magazine tosh.

Can journalists stop fainting with joy whenever this guy says anything. There's a real world out there and the rest of us live in it.

As posted previously, whenever in my world this guy's name crops up, the reaction is either a pained grimace (as if a nasty smell has crept into the room) or a shiver down the spine (same reason) - sometimes both reactions.

Andy Carpark

"Up to now, the inability of Mandelson to manage his own image has been one of the great contradictions of his career."

Why? It's an old saw that a lawyer who advises himself has a fool for a client. Similarly for spin doctors, who by definition are not supposed to have an image (Alasdair Campbell, 2003).

"But third time round, he is almost completely in control of it."

Vacuous. He is projecting the image he wants to project. And? Are you actually suggesting he is fooling anyone? Who are these people? What are their names?

"By opening up and playing up to the gallery, he has created his own persona."

As opposed to what, somebody else's? I just created my own persona. I put on a silly hat. Thank you for your applause, everybody. You're too kind.

"By being such good copy, he has made the press obsessed with him but in a way that helps him."

How?

"The master of media manipulation has finally worked out how to manipulate the media for his own benefit."

Finally?!? What exactly was he doing between 1992 and 1997, shooting his foot off? And what is this "benefit"?

And PS. Why the blue blazes should we care? This sort of "wilderness of mirrors" sophistry obviously still has you all wincing with pleasure in Old Queen Street. To everybody else, it wasn't even funny the first time round.

Steve.W

Forsyth on Mandelson - “he has made the press obsessed with him.” Press yes, public no.

Piper at the Gates of Dawn

You all seem to spend hours worrying about what Mandelson said, means, did or will do. How about worrying about the challenge posed by massive Moslem immigration into Western Europe? Are we happy with it? Are we at ease with it? Do we want it? Anybody ever asked us?

Diogenes

@Stephen

I think we should. Mandelson is an exceptionally unpleasant guy but is also highly competent, and possibly Labour's best chance. You may dislike him, but don't write him off. An equally well-considered response may be required from Team Dave.

Jupiter

Mandy might be able to fool some of the numpties in the media, but the public hate him even more than the Prime Mentalist.

Verity

Andy Carpark, definitely to the point.

Alan Douglas

Mandlebum is BRILLIANT !

At least, compared to Brown, he is ....

ALan Douglas

logdon

Piper at the Gates of Dawn
August 10th, 2009 5:22pm

Piper, after the Twin Tower atrocity, I latched on to a number of sites detailing precisely your fears and obvious anger.

You are not alone. In fact if we'd all grow a spine and do that thing, you know, let me think, that thing we used to do, ah yes, conduct free speech, you'll find that there's an overwhelming presence of thought which runs precisely in sync with yours.

We've had enough of this outright debasement and feeble capitulation.

This weekend saw a major upheaval on the streets of Birmingham. There will be more.

When even the media is spinning that into a sort of fascist demo thing when it's plain that Muslim thugs attacked a peaceful meeting we have to take stock.

They then created havoc amongst innocent shoppers in the town centre streets.

It's plain from all the pictures what went on yet try to find an honest account.

The BNP are proved to be right and next election will see a number of BNP MP's.

I can’t see them making serious inroads, as in a national majority, but what a complacency shaking message to the powers that be?

David Ossitt

Jupiter writes.

"Mandy might be able to fool some of the numpties in the media, but the public hate him even more than the Prime Mentalist"

Spot on.

Every time this loathsome individual opens his mouth to speak on radio or appears on television he loses labour more and more voters.

The great mass of the population; those who live their lives away from the Westminster Village, do not like this vile mincing little man, he is the spreader of poison and malicious venom.

Very soon we will be rid of him once and for all.

Marbury

Good post James. It's a bit McCain-2000 isn't it?

logdon

I thought Toenails gave him a bit of a run on Newsnight the other week.

Most amazed! What I groaningly thought would be a fawning, slightly camp lovefest turned into quite a tussle, with T/n turning in a reasonably good performance. For a change.

Will it last? Will the BBC obey their public remit of impartiality?

Only if Cameron trowels the hard line into their innermost lefty crevices.

What a thought?

Lance Grundy

Peter Hitchens has a post worth reading The genius of Peter Mandelson over at his Mail on Sunday blog where he discusses Mandelson’s shady communist past that seems to have been airbrushed out of history.

Athesius the Facilitator

The London chattering classes and the press are obsessed with Mandelson, thinking, wrongly that every word he utters has some kind of profound meaning or symbolism. Get this London persons-out here in the real world we think he is a "paper hat" and it's time you lot started treating him like one.

Frank P

Breaking News on Mandelson:

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/business/mandelson-sells-country-to-chinese-gangsters-200908101967/

I believe they are not joking this time, even though it is veeeery funny.

mitch

The media in this country seem to believe that mandelson is some kind of messiah of the left.
When I hear him speak I hear lies,spin and utter rubbish. The man is a proven liar and fraud so why is he a lord?

logdon

The day Mandy bucks the stars of the media, financial and showbiz firmaments will be the day that he begins his road to redemption.

Neither will happen.

As for, to twist Blair's bon mot, Britain learning to love him? There are at least 60 million people in the queue ahead. A long wait beckons.

Peter from Maidstone

Can the Spectator try and go a whole edition without mentioning the man. WE DON'T CARE WHAT HE SAYS OR DOES. You may all be in love with him, but WE ARE NOT!

Verity

Peter from Maidstone - Seconded.