Contender for "nit wit of the year"

Domnic Grieve makes some comments about multi-culturalism in the Guardian today. He says: “We’ve done something terrible to ourselves in Britain”.

Breathe in….count to ten….breathe out.

First of all I would say that Mr Grieve represents Beaconsfield, a town with a 4% non-white ethnic population, about a third of the national rate.

So, let’s just say that Mr Grieve may lack day-to-day experience of what he speaks of.

In passing, I would also point out that Dominic Grieve spoke French as a child before he spoke English. I’m not sure what that has got to do with this, but it must have some relevance.

The key flaw in his attack on multi-culturalism, as with all attacks on it, is that he seems to assume that a group of woolly lefty academics sat down and drew up a plan called “multi-culturalism”.

Of course they didn’t. It just happened, for goodness sake! If there is any one word which defines Britishness it is “tolerance”. We have had a tolerant immigration policy over the last hundred years. We have welcomed Empire and Commonwealth citizens and we have been a haven for people fleeing dictatorships.

People have lived where they felt like it. In this country people are free to rent or buy houses where they want to. So if they choose to live with people who have a similar ethnic origin to themselves then – fair enough. It happens.

If they choose to eat certain food and wear certain clothes then – fair enough. It happens. The only duty of a British citizen is to obey the law. Not deny their origins and culture.

Grieve says:

In the name of trying to prepare people for some new multicultural society we’ve told people, particularly long-term inhabitants, ‘Well your cultural background isn’t really very important, or it’s flawed, or you shouldn’t be worrying about it’

Has someone actually said this to anyone? Of course not. Is there any government pronouncement over the last hundred years that could be characterised as such? Of course not. He is making it up. No one has said “Your cultural background isn’t really very important” to anyone. It is total and complete cobblers.

Is this ad the biggest waste of money ever?

This ad (below) really is the most bizarre thing. It was the rapid response from the McCain campaign after the Presidential debate last night. But for the end voice-over, I suspect it would qualify for Obama to say “I approve this message”. It basically shows clips of Obama saying he agreed with Senator McCain. And that’s meant to make him unqualified to be President? How bonkers is that as a line of logic? It actually emphasises how reasonable Obama is and contradicts the point about him being partisan in his approach.

This McCain ad is more likely to decrease McCain’s popularity, not increase it. That is underlined by watching the tape of the CNN broadcast of the debate which had an audience reaction line at the bottom. Whenever McCain said “Senator Obama doesn’t understand” (which he said repeatedly), the graph dropped right down.

Despite being asked several times to address Obama directly, McCain didn’t look at him once and only once addressed a remark to him. Most of the time he looked away or at the monitor, even when meeting Obama at the beginning.

The cut-aways of McCain’s reactions showed him bristling and smirking. He looked like an angry old man – his body language and demeanour seemed to be saying “It’s obvious that I have vast experience and I know best – why on earth is this whippersnapper even allowed on the same stage as me?”

One answer which McCain gave ought to make Americans very afraid. When asked what he would do about the extra spending caused by the bank bailout, he suggested a government spending freeze on everything except defence, veteran affairs and entitlements. This once again underlines the impulsive, overly gung-ho character of John McCain. As Obama said, perhaps a scapel is needed, rather than a hatchet.

Has McCain had his chips?

It’s too early to say, but thank goodness I finally have an excuse, albeit a wafer thin one, to use that title. I’ve waited two years to do it!

McCain needed to win the first debate clearly, given that it was on his strong subject of national security, and he is behind in the polls. He needed a “game changer” but didn’t get it.

CBS did a poll of 500 uncommitted voters straight after last night’s debate. 39% said Obama won it, and 24% said McCain. 37% said it was a tie.

But a CNN poll was even more convincing for Obama. They did a national poll of 524 adults who watched the debate with a 4.5 point margin of error. 51% said Obama won and 38% went with Obama.