Be careful what you wish for

Word is that, while wee Gordie is pretending to be a statesman alongside the rest of the G8 leaders, the other members of the pygmy tribe are plotting aong themselves to replace him. One of the leading contenders, unbelievably, is Harriet Harman.
Harriet - I would not recognise reality even if it siezed me by the throat and shook me - Harperson wants to be the Prime Minister of the country with the sixth largest economy in the world; the country that is fighting serious wars in two very hostile environments and the country that is facing its most serious societal and economic challenges for thirty years.
Harriet who has never had a real job and who, therefore thinks that forcing small businesses to grant limitless leave to pregnant women, mums - of whatever gender -and people with small dogs would not seriously harm their prospects wants, to run our country.

Quick. All of you who raised your hands to the question: Do we want to get rid of Gordon Brown; put them down again. Your wish could come in a package labelled: Harriet Harman.

And while we are talking about women who enjoyed an enormously privileged education, made the right contacts and have parlayed very limited talents into positions of great influence....here's Cherie Blair.
Now Cherie is one of those people about whom political journalists of a certain ilk, i.e. bone idle, cannot help writing without mentioning how clever they are. This applies to Cherie Blair and equally to David Milliband, Ed Balls and Tory Politicians like Michael Gove. At some early stage in their careers all of these people have either personally - or through friends - circulated personal profiles stressing their wit, intelligence, education and suitability for high office. One lazy journalist after another then refers to a clippings file rather than do any research when interviewing or preparing profiles on these people. So, as they move inexorably up the greasy pole, the self-awarded label of super-brain follows them. In a recent profile of Ed Balls, for instance, the lickspittle journalist who wrote the piece referred to his having a brain the size of two planets, even though all the evidence of his actions as Minister for Children etc, would seem to indicate that he barely has sufficient brain power to wipe his own arse unaided.
The same is true of Cherie Blair. Even though the only real ability she has ever demonstrated has been a talent for acquiring free holidays and clothes and doing dodgy real estate deals in equal measure, subservient journalists insist on prefacing any story about her with a rehearsal of the incredible intellectual powers that have got her to the position she occupies today: mother, author, barrister, part-time judge and, oh. yes in case you might have forgotten, wife to some geezer called Tony Blair.
Given her enormous intellectual powers, what are we to make of the awful, trite, patronising garbage that she has written in the Daily Telegraph today on the subject of knife crime?

" The impact of knife and gun crime on victims, families and whole communities is devastating"
Well, there's nothing like stating the bleedin obvious to get everyone's attention. is there? But not too much evidence of thought, let alone anything approaching original thought.
What about this one: "As a mother I am deeply concerned that knives and guns are becoming a part of everyday life for young people.."
What does that mean? That if our Cher weren't a mother she wouldn't be quite so deeply concerned? Or, perhaps what she is saying is that only a mother can feel and express such deep feelings about the role of weapons in modern society? If you are a dad, an uncle, an aunt or completely childless, presumably, you either have no opinion or are not entitled to express one?
The article occupies about a third of a broadsheet page in a quality national newspaper. The sentiments it expresses could be summed up in one, handwringing sentence; something ought to be done. Granted, she does actually recommend a course of action or, to be more precise, inaction because what she wants is yet another commission - or in this case Unit - to be set up by the government to work with "partner agencies to seek to achieve long-term social change". In other words, another talking shop for which she probably already has a friend or old colleague in mind to run it. In the meantime, she can probably parley her involvement into another round of highly-remunerated speeches along the lines of " Knife-crime and how to tackle it." And add another line to her CV emphasising the awesome intellectual power she brings to bear on the situation so that some other, gullible journalist can trot it out all over again at some time in the future.