James Forsyth James Forsyth

What Gordon should learn from Hillary

After Hillary’s remarkable come from behind victory in New Hampshire there have been a lot of jokes about how we can now expect Gordon Brown, and every other ambitious politician, to start choking up in public. Somehow, I can’t see Brown doing this or pulling it off if he tried. However, there is one thing that Brown should learn from Hillary.

When her campaign was at its lowest ebb, Hillary embarked on a new strategy of making herself as available as possible. In the last few days in New Hampshire she took questions from the audience, which she hadn’t in Iowa, and allowed the press to talk to her far more freely. Hillary’s continuing this new approach with an hour long appearance on Meet The Press, the premier US political show, and a new web based QandA.  

This new tack has proved so effective because it counters the idea that Hillary somehow feels she is entitled to the nomination and because it humanises her. Brown, who suffers from the same problems, could do a lot worse than to copy it.

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