Somebody Else's Putz

If you can judge a man by the company he keeps, [British Prime Minister] David Cameron is a pinball machine. Look at the random bunch of advisers he hangs – or in one case hung – around with. Just look at them.

First, Andy Coulson, the Essex-boy "man of the people" who rose to become editor of the nation's foremost grieving-relative surveillance unit. At the other end of the spectrum, George Gideon Oliver King Rameses Osborne, 14-year-old novelty chancellor and future baron of Ballentaylor and Ballylemon – a man so posh he probably weeps champagne. And finally, at the opposing end of the spectrum to the other end of the spectrum – thereby hopelessly triangulating the spectrum – we have "blue-sky" policy guru Steve Hilton, who apparently wanders around Downing Street barefoot, "thinking outside the box" like some groovy CEO.

Imagine sitting in a meeting room trying to make sense of that lot. [...]. The cognitive dissonance would grow so loud you'd turn olive and giddy. And then you wouldn't know which one to vomit over first. (Although since you're David Cameron, the correct answer is "yourself".)

[...]

Last week, the aura of mystery [around Steve Hilton] was punctured somewhat after the Financial Times printed a leaked list of some of his bluer "blue-sky" ideas, such as the abolition of maternity leave and the closure of Job Centres. Ministers were quick to point out none of this was going to become official policy – rather, this was all a bit of amusing crazy talk designed to kick-start internal discussions. You know, an icebreaker – like opening a meeting by suggesting everyone follows you down to the local duck pond to watch you chop the head off a swan with some shears. It gets people talking. The swan's head stays on – the swan was never in danger – but some truly ground-breaking concepts might spin out of the ensuing debate. Only by thinking the unthinkable can we define what's thinkable. The swan has to die in our heads to survive in our hearts. Or something.

  UK Guardian

From Blair to Cameron. From Bush to Obama. Where the hell are we?

Oh yeah, the handbasket.