tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post5612989985260377861..comments2024-03-29T08:35:23.400+00:00Comments on SCOT goes POP!: Salmond eases to debate win - as expectedJames Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516007141763230886noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-47877586244102872872011-03-30T23:32:04.757+01:002011-03-30T23:32:04.757+01:00Hopefully the parties will have learned that putti...Hopefully the parties will have learned that putting up activists to fawn over their leader and attack the others is blatantly obvious and reflects badly on their own party. And STV should do more to find an audience than lazily let people apply through a form on their site. While I'm at it, a structure to the programme and order to the questions would have been nice, although that is probably asking a little too much from STV.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-67922095395521943232011-03-30T21:37:09.143+01:002011-03-30T21:37:09.143+01:00I agree with Colin that it is plain wrong that Pat...I agree with Colin that it is plain wrong that Patrick Harvie isn't there. The SNP rightly made a noise about being excluded from debates that were being shown in Scotland at the English election, surely a similar principle is involved here.<br /><br />No matter how well or badly the Greens do in teh election, they can always say that they would have done better if they had been treated fairly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-17284962989080486592011-03-30T20:00:36.377+01:002011-03-30T20:00:36.377+01:00And, I should add, let's have Harvie there too...And, I should add, let's have Harvie there too. Have the SNP or Lib Dem leaderships responded yet to the Greens' request for support in getting on the panel? If not, that's kind of appalling.rullkohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06468064035662238392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-83094575936181483932011-03-30T18:42:09.043+01:002011-03-30T18:42:09.043+01:00Why are the audiences at these things always full ...Why are the audiences at these things always full of such misfits? The hundred-year-old colonel drooling over Bella; the Lord Sutch-a-like in the hat; the lady whose voice trembled as she sang hymns to the glory of Eck; the space cadet who accused the Tories of attacking pensioners by cutting their council tax ("cuts are bad"). Let's just have the moderator and the panel next time.rullkohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06468064035662238392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-4916625968042121022011-03-30T16:01:56.613+01:002011-03-30T16:01:56.613+01:00I'd probably agree with your ratings, James. I...I'd probably agree with your ratings, James. I don't remember Alex putting a foot wrong - he gave good, clear answers and the one point which could have stumped him (Megrahi) was dealt with quite well.<br /><br />Tavish wasn't bad, but he wasn't great either, and the dig at the Amazon jobs was a bit of a strange bone of contention to pick, especially as it then presented Alex with the political equivalent of a tap-in.<br /><br />Bella was as you would expect from her - pretty assured, and although most would disagree with her policies, she at least argues her case well. It was refreshing that she helped put Iain Gray in his place on a couple of occasions, especially in regards to highlighting his party's record on council tax freezes, and I was pleased Ponsonby picked up on it.<br /><br />Gray? Well, what can you say about Iain Gray? On at least two occasions his attempts to duck questions were so blatant that even Daily Record journalists must have been cringing. His excuses for changing tact on council tax and tuition fees were pathetic, and he just looked childish when the debate turned to apprenticeships, especially when he kept saying 20,000 instead of 25,000.<br /><br />In regards to the FM poll, I agree it was quite cruel, but I also enjoyed the results. Iain Gray looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him up, and his attempt to say it showed the SNP was a one-man band wasn't fooling anyone, especially as it still failed to answer why he was below Bella. I actually thought Tavish dealt with his 2% rating very well indeed - a rare piece of wit from him in saying that a successful claim for the 37% undecided would see him at the top.<br /><br />I think Marcia has it right though - for a debate you expect them to be given a few minutes at the start to set out their stalls and for the questions to be asked and answered in a more formal way. This was more like an episode of Question Time.Doug Danielhttp://albamatters.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-28422120249246899282011-03-30T15:14:51.440+01:002011-03-30T15:14:51.440+01:00"I don't think any of them did too badly....<i>"I don't think any of them did too badly. I certainly would not put a full five points between them"</i><br /><br />Admittedly Gray settled into it as it went on, but I really did think he was pretty awful for the first twenty minutes or so, and that will have stuck in people's minds. Tavish - harder to say, certainly his body language was fine and he always seems very confident, but there wsa no 'bite' to what he was saying that would really make him stand out. All the same, that was probably preferable to Angry Tavish that we sometimes see at FMQs!James Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01516007141763230886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-48166528951494123462011-03-30T15:00:31.544+01:002011-03-30T15:00:31.544+01:00Accepting that STV probably allowed the participan...Accepting that STV probably allowed the participants some make-up, I thought that Gray with his hair plastered down and pancake on his face looked like a Madame Tuissaud's exhibit.<br />But the exhibit would have more charisma....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-55837074422329122662011-03-30T11:57:43.681+01:002011-03-30T11:57:43.681+01:00replace 'will' on line 4 with 'won'...replace 'will' on line 4 with 'won't'Marcianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-90836822608260129722011-03-30T11:55:07.203+01:002011-03-30T11:55:07.203+01:00Never a fan of AS, he did okay. He after all has t...Never a fan of AS, he did okay. He after all has to defend his 4 years in office, the others don't have that to defend other than votes taken during that period. He seemed assured and comfortable during the programme and see no reason why this will continue up to polling day. It was not really a debate programme. I would give them 5 minutes each then allow the others to question them for 10 minutes and I would ditch the audience. I don't know if the make up artist at STV was anti-Labour but my he or she got mixed up with the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Husband suggested to me that IG in his opinion had one or two sherberts befoe the programme.Marcianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-8557637145173790022011-03-30T10:09:14.593+01:002011-03-30T10:09:14.593+01:00I don't think any of them did too badly. I cer...I don't think any of them did too badly. I certainly would not put a full five points between them, maybe Alex 7 Annabel and Tavish 6 Iain 5 something like that. <br /><br />I fear that as nationalists we fall into the trap that most people do when asked to rate their own driving as opposed to other people. Then give themselves 9/10 and everyone else 3/10 when in actual fact everyone is really 5/10!Munguinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16475165830302054002noreply@blogger.com