Brown risks being over-prepared for the debates

emil

What's to "over prepare" ?, Brown will simply have one standard set response to any question asked.

Number7

I just watched a small part of Gove Vs Balls!!!!

Paxman = Useless/Tribal

Balls = TOTALLY OBNOXIOUS

Gove = Statesmanlike but virtually unable to make his point.

It would appear that ZanuLieBore have decided to depart from the civilised world - We can only hope that their new one is on the other side of the Universe!!!

2trueblue

Brown had a bit of trouble trying to find what he wanted in his notes, so a perfect cue for Cameron to run with the moment. This is just what he needs to do more of.

Richard

If you read the Telegraph Benedcit Brogan says that Brown wiped the floor with Cameron at PMQ's yesteerday. Brogan that well known socialist journo from the Labour biased Newspaper.
Oh and just watched newsnight and Groves was woeful.

TrevorsDen

Brown has a brain the size of a planet - thats why Britain is in such a wonderful economic position with only a 90 billion structural deficit and a trillion national debt to worry about.

On another point --- its claimed that labours proposed 10% death tax would raise 3 times as much as it needs to look after the aged.

M Bell

Dave completely lost the plot today at PMQs with feined passion. Its like his advisors had been saying you've got to come across as more passionate than Gordon and today he thought he would attempt it.

It wasn't very statesmanlike and if he repeats this in the TV debates it could be a "Neil Kinnock-Sheffield Rally" style moment that gets Brown off the hook. Amazingly blogger Iain Dale scored PMQs as a draw after Dave's "We won the Cold War" own goal.

We can't go on like this..

PuppetMaster

I don't think you are right. These aren't proper debates, they will be like Question Time, just a shouting match. Partisans may watch, but I've got loads of other channels which will be much more fun.
The only thing worth watching is sterling, it doesn't matter at this point who wins, because it is going to drop a long way down.

Annabel Herriott

I did watch newsnight. Balls was eyewateringly dreadful. Brown isnt the only Bully in the Cabinet!!

AAE

Cameron would be well advised to have a long talk to a psychiatrist used to treating sociopaths and pathological liars. Their techniques of avoidance and deflection, and seeming supercool in the face of their barefaced lies, which often provokes their accuser to uncontrollable frustration, have been demonstrated time after time by Brown. Someone with clinical experience could help Cameron find the button which will cause Brown's internal edifice to collapse - this can most effectively be done by never following the line of argument which your opponent will try to lay down, and by having information which your opponent has no idea that you have and using it at the right time. Cameron cannot prepare too much for this, but he must be clever, know his enemy and have the will to destroy him.

strapworld

AAE writes some fascinating advice here. Perhaps he could explain "by having information which your opponent has no idea that you have etc."? How does one determine that?

I do hope that notes are not allowed to be taken into the 'debates' Although I can see that Clegg and Cameron would not need notes but Brown would have to take his. That would make Clegg and Cameron appear far more 'on top'! That is why Brown obviously needs time to memorise everything.

Should that occur then we can all expect a great laugh, at Brown's expense, as that buffoon will prove useless without his notes. Soundbite after soundbite after soundbite.

Michael Judd

Am interesting point that Number 7 makes.
I saw a bit of John Snow (Ch 4 news) and his "debate" on health and the elderly, last night.
I find that these questioners allow the Labour guy to talk at will, but interrupts the conservative all the time, thus preventing him making any point at all. Snow did this with Mandy and Ken Clarke a short while ago.
Can we bring this out into the open?

Dorothy Wilson

AAE: You are absolutely right.

On a more general point, there are two ways of preparing for a debate. One is by memorising large chunks of spiel and statistics and then regurgitating from prompt notes even if they do not relate to the topic being discussed. The other is to understand the underlying issues to the point where you can think on your feet and then relate your arguments to a specific point.

Now which do you think Brown will be comfortable with?

EyeSee

There is one debate we need to know is taking place in this country, to learn positively that we have turned the corner and that would be one between Gordon Brown and the police. Just what do we have to do, to get the police to do the job we pay them for? The fraud committed by Brown is not in doubt and is not hidden. He claims for a second home but has two grace and favour homes paid for by us and for which he doesn't even get taxed as you or I would. I cannot understand why so much focus goes on the excitement of a slanging match between senior politicians when, as if to mock us and that process the things that affect us in the real world are ignored. Let's see a corrupt Prime Minister arrested and we might think this country, its society as Margaret Thatcher would put it, exists for the people not for the people to serve the State.

strapworld

Dealing with Snow and Co, with their constant interruptions, is using the power of silence!

When asked the question, be silent and smile and when Snow asks if you understood the question, just smile and say, in a quiet voice, "Sorry, Mr Snow, I was waiting for you to get your constant interruptions in first before answering" then answer. IF he interrupts return to the smile and silence. If he persists then the ultimate is to, quietly, say that you will not be party to such a juvenile debate and walk off!

TrevorsDen

Snow is a labour bigot.

Cameron was great at PMQs and Brown his usual dreadful lying self. I personally am twice as anry and passionate as cameron over the appalling way our armed forces have been treated and misused in what is a war of choice not necessity. A war of political macho diplomatic posturing where our troops come a long last in a list of priorities.

Brown had no answer when asked about the unlawful killing verdict. No answer because he was the unlawful killer.

Nicholas

Snow is a newsreader but useless at chairing debates. I've watched a few of these and thought how bad he was, completely out of his comfort zone and less able to conceal his partisan preference for the left - or prejudice against the right - than even when he is when "reading" the news.

Just to see his face you know he is essentially a nasty piece of work. Like most strident lefties. He makes the big mistake, from his student protest days, of assuming that constant heckling and badgering is making some kind of lefty point.

The lefty trolls currently infesting the Coffee House do exactly the same thing.

Rhoda Klapp

Mrs Thatcher used to provoke interruption by pausing in the wrong place, then jump all over the interviewer (who like all TV people was trying to fill ' dead air') when they succumbed to the temptation to butt in.

It is time for the Tories to challenge this bias on the part of the media. You can't make friends with them or turn them. Challenge. Speak quietly. Wait before beginning to answer. Draw attention to bad behaviour and rudeness from the other side.

Number7

WRT John Snow -

His interview with Lord Guthrie on last night's Channel 4 News was a lesson in how to deal with interruptons. Guthrie was very calm and polite while he filleted Browns actions - at the same time managing to belittle Snow.

oldtimer

AAE makes some good points. In fact what well prepared TV (and other media) interviewers do is to get their researchers to winkle out every quote they can find about the person they will interview. They will then construct a series of awkward questions, if they want to embarrass their subject, or soft questions if they want to help them. You see it all the time and is easy to spot. The standard response of the person being interviewed is to ignore the question and spout their prepared statement of the one point they want to get across in their max 30 seconds of air time. This has been standard practice for c40 years.

This was all pointed out to me a long time ago in a TV training session by, as I recall, Denis Tuohy. In his day he was a respected and formidable TV interviewer. Nothing much seems to have changed since then. The forthcoming TV debates will reveal this in practice. What will be interesting is the extent that the participants lose their thread or get thrown off balance. Those are the bits that will appear on the news programmes later.

Brown does seem addicted to statement retreads - I see that Guido picked him up on his "I will not let you down" statement he which, he reveals, Brown previously used in 2007. Brown went on to say "...it is because of the strength of the British economy that we are able to steer a path of low inflation, low interest rates and stable growth… with the longest uninterrupted period of economic growth in the history of our country." Next thing we knew, the economy went into freefall.

If the Cameron team are on the ball, they will have researched all this thoroughly for themselves for use as needed. A good memory and an ability to think on your feet will come in handy on the night.

The Bellman

James: If the media and the opposition haven't managed to decisively rout Bruin over his lies and evasions in PMQs, press conferences, speeches and interviews, what makes you think Bruin's shiftiness will count against him now? There is already a stench of deceit surrounding the man and his government, yet the polls still show little advantage for the Tories: a few more wafts, even live on TV for those who bother to watch, will make no difference.

Bruin will plod away with a couple of simple, memorable points, regardless of the accuracy or plausibility ('I won't let you down...' 'I never said that...' '0% growth...' 'investment...') and damn the rest. Barring a full nervous collapse - which I admit would be a tremendous pleasure to watch - Bruin wins by default.

That is what we have: government by default, maintained in office by the wholesale disillusionment of the electorate with any and all politicians, like the victors of pass the parcel when the music has stopped.

PayDirt

Ref recent comments on Cameron's "we won the Cold War" on PWQ yesterday, I happened to catch James Purnell say recently at the LSE "Then the fall of the
Berlin Wall dealt what felt like a terminal blow to Left ideologies.
Socialism had become a lost dream" http://www2.lse.ac.uk/publicEvents/pdf/20100215_James%20Purnell.pdf

Why don't people who are thinking of voting Labour realize that what was happening on the wrong side of the Wall is exactly what they'll be voting in. People of the UK, don't imprison yourselves in another Socialist prison of the 2010's.

Nicholas

PayDirt, good post and an interesting link, thank you.

Private Schultz

James
I thought your point 'By contrast, Brown is much more determined to stick to his pre-prepared lines.' was well illustrated by Brown's 'reply' to Nick Clegg's questions. To me it sounded as if he had prepared a response for a crime question from Dave, and then couldn't adapt it to fit a different questioner.

2trueblue

Richard, you ought to get out more, B Brogan is great buddies with the Balls. He also failed to nail the flippers when doing the disgusting expenses fiasco. You might rate Brogans 'impartiality' but lots do not.

Paddy

He's peaked too soon then!

Andy

Browns reputation as an intellectual heavyweight I have always found puzzling. So far I have seen little evidence of critical thinking, originality and financial acumen. He certainly has zero emotional intelligence.

By and large, Brown is nothing more than an obsolete set of responses, completely lacking in humility:

http://www.transporter.com/FatherPeffley/Spirituality/Humility.html

radgie gadgie

Snow has long since given up the pretence of being a neutral interviewer or discussion facilitator. A particular low point recently was a 'debate' where the small invited audience were all AGW loons and Snow stated to them that the floods in Cumbria were down to global warming.

PayDirt

One of the Socialist’s major themes is “guaranteeing” full employment. To achieve this Communist countries used to take over the economy and paid all workers, however eventually this took the stuffing out of workers will to work hard, innovate and produce goods of greater value than non-Communist countries. Under Brown “New” Labour is reverting to a quasi-Communist party. They put a high value on full employment, Brown will bring up the subject during the forthcoming Debates. Where does Cameron stand on this? Under Thatcher, UK temporarily suffered high unemployment but eventually the economy changed from manufacturing to providing services, apparently more or less successfully, until recently. The US can probably overcome its current bad debt position, it can be self-sufficient if necessary. Germany being the powerhouse of the EU will have to settle down within the EU somehow, or the EU will either whither away or explode into pieces. The UK looks pretty much a hopeless case. A service economy is not much use as a means to pay off a shedload of bad debt. So when Brown asks Cameron what’s he going to do about the X million unemployed his “cuts” to the Service economy will entail, what is Cameron’s plan?

Sadie

Cameron was magic at PMQs. His whiplash comment about those CND badges, totally inspired. He's put a spring in my step all day.

WRT Jon Snow: perhaps he could investigate the news blackout imposed on the military during the election… ISTR he got very exercised damning the secrecy surrounding Prince Harry's deployment at the front line, the year before last — "I think the decision to keep information from the viewer and listener is a very serious one and it goes to the very root of the issue of trust between the media and the consumers."

God knows how he'll deal with a blanket ban on reporting.