12 Comments

• Alix 28th Nov '07 - 12:51pm

  That man is a genius.

• Simon Chapman 28th Nov '07 - 12:55pm

  As a Conservative, in a spirit of genuine enquiry: do Liberal Democrats think they have the best 2 leadership candidates, or would you prefer to see Vince Cable? he has an authority and humor that elude both the increasingly disappointing Clegg and Huhne. Can you organise a last-ditch wrote-in campaign for Cable?

• Edis 28th Nov '07 - 1:16pm

  Vince was once described as having a ‘charisma bypass’… a reason for not putting up a stall last time.

  Well he certainy hasn’t had a ‘sharp tooth and eye for the jugular target’ bypass. If what he has infectuous I hope he bites whoever wins the vote in December.

• Alix 28th Nov '07 - 1:17pm

  Having now been to a hustings, Simon, yes I think we do have the best two (increasingly disappointing, my fundament).

  I was sorry when Vince didn’t stand and so were others, but in retrospect he was almost certainly right to recognise that he would have fallen victim to the same tedious “old and bald” treatment from the press. He has had such a tremendously good run in the interregnum partly because he got rid of all tricksy expectations at an early stage – it’s left him a free hand.

• Rob C 28th Nov '07 - 1:26pm

  Vince Cable is a brilliant Commons performer at PMQ and on economic issues but that does not necessarily make him the right person to lead the Lib Dems over the next few years. I’m happy with the choice of Clegg or Huhne.

• Rob Knight 28th Nov '07 - 1:30pm

  I think the reason Vince works so well is that he’s entirely unapologetic and is willing to go on the warpath when he thinks that the government is messing up.

  The ‘Mr. Bean’ line is fantastic, and I could write a few thousand words on why if I wasn’t at work and didn’t care about boring everyone to death. There’s a rare gift there for picking up on an image or idea that people can understand easily, and applying it in the correct way. Sometime’s Vince’s metaphors can get a bit convoluted (I vaguely remember being quite confused by a nautical metaphor to the credit markets), but when he gets it right he really gets it right.

• Letterman 28th Nov '07 - 1:42pm

  Nick and Chris should watch and learn!

• crewegwyn 28th Nov '07 - 2:14pm

  Letterman @7:

  and I’m sure they will!

• Bunnies Can And Will Go to France 28th Nov '07 - 2:16pm

  Cable is your best man. The others are nowhere. “Old and bald” isn’t the issue. “Old, bald and useless” was the issue with Sir Menses. Cable comes over as smart and forensic.

  The Mr. Bean line was class and may well stick permanently to Stalin McSporran. Vince’s political career will not end in failure if his one-liner tags Broon forever as the weird-looking pratfalling clown of UK politics.

• Ross Chmiel 28th Nov '07 - 2:29pm

  I sincerely hope that whoever emerges as the next leader puts Vince Cable in a very senior position on the front bench.
  He has been an excellent acting leader and deserves to be properly rewarded.

• Rob Knight 28th Nov '07 - 4:05pm

  He’s already in the most senior position possible after the leader – Shadow Chancellor and Deputy Leader.

• Simon Chapman 28th Nov '07 - 5:36pm

  Well, if you are really sure….

  Thank you all for responding. As an outsider, I am sure you know best!