Waffle

3:13pm

I've just recorded a discussion on political memoirs with Steve Richards and Lord Howe for A Week in Westminster. If you're so inclined, you can hear it on Saturday on Radio 4 at 11am. 

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Boris' first mistake?

3:08pm

Hmmm. I've a feeling this could turn out to be Boris' first mistake:

Newly elected London mayor Boris Johnson will return to the Daily Telegraph - where he is expected to earn about £250,000 a year for his weekly column.

Johnson will resume writing for the newspaper in the summer and write the column at weekends for publication on Monday or Tuesday, his spokesman Guto Hari confirmed.

So far, he's been pitch perfect with his appointments and actions. But doesn't this just reek of the part-time mayor notion? Of course there's no reason in theory why Boris - or anyone else - shouldn't do more than one job when holding public office, but it hardly gives off the right vibes.

In the end he'll be judged on how he does as mayor, but I do think it's a mistake for him to appear so cavalier about his main job.

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Shut up, Charles

7:47am

Prince Charles was busy abusing his position again this morning, lecturing us on deforestation on the Today programme. 

This man has a choice to make: it he wants to take part in political debates, step aside as heir to the throne. If he wants the privileges that come with his position: shut up and behave like his mother.

There was a line I liked, however, when he was speaking about lobbying President Sarkozy:

I had a word with President Sarkozy the other day. I had to pick him up at the airport and take him to Windsor, so I spoke to him then.

I do like the image of Charles standing waiting at the arrivals gate with a sign saying 'Sarkozy' and helping the French President with his luggage into the back of his car before driving him to his destination.

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Over and out

2:42pm

There's a bizarre post by Conor Ryan on the Democrat nomination process:

A 67-26 victory in West Virginia by the woman whom the media has been declaring a lame duck is a reminder why this contest is not over yet. The maths of the Democratic race may dictate that Obama is the likely candidate, but the maths of the Presidential election are rather more complicated, and suggest Hillary is more likely to beat McCain. 

Be that as it may, the fact - fact, not media speculation - is that Obama has more of the primary delgates tied up, and  the superdelegates are announcing only one way - for Obama. The contest is over, over, over. It's as over as my ante post bet on New Approach in the 2000 Guineas. It's as over as Brian Clough. It's as over as Gordon Brown.

The argument about who'd be best to beat McCain is now irrelevant.  Obama will be the nominee. All Hillary is doing is getting her 'I told you so's in now, ready for 2012. And turning it into a self-fulfilling prophesy by expanding, rather than minimising, voters' splits.

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Hillary's downfall

12:51pm

I know yoiu might think yet another Downfall skit is is one too many, but this one really is fantastic (via Antoine Clarke):

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