CAMERON FAILS LETTERMAN TEST.

Why a serving British Prime Minister would demean his office by appearing on a chat show is a mystery to me. That he should choose to appear on a satirical show in the United States is even more inexplicable. I know that other senior figures have previously been guests on the same show, but these were not serving Prime Ministers. Cameron's appearance could only have been matched by a US President choosing to be a guest of, say, Jonathan Ross, something which I don't think ever has, or ever will, happen.

 

Cameron must be largely unknown to the population of the US and his appearance can have done nothing to raise his profile; Letterman's audience for the programme has been reported as being around 3 million, hardly enough to make Cameron a household name across the 'Pond'. Presumably his motivating force waas the recent appearance of his arch-rival, Boris Johnson, on the same show, but Boris is a natural televisual performer whereas Cameron is not.

 

While our PM apparently answered questions about the world situation competently, he also seems to have failed miserably when quizzed on a few historical facts. I've known that 'Rule Britannia' was written by Thomas Arne, not Edward Elgar, for more years than I can rememebr though Cameron did not. While I did not have the benefit of attending Eton, where I presume the 'Classics' are still a requirement, I certainly had no trouble with the English meaning of 'Magna Carta' which is, of course 'Great Charter'; how Cameron, who must surely have taken Latin at school and studied every aspect of politics ever since, did not know this is beyond my understanding. Boris, as he often demonstrates, uses odd Latin phrases regularly and with aplomb, and I bet he knew about 'Rule Britannia' too.

 

The one thing that this appearance has shown us is that Cameron is not as well educated or clever as he'd like us all to believe. He may have gone to Eton and and gained a first in PPE at Oxford but when it comes down to a bit or knowledge about the real world, he doesn't have it. Cameron is simply another rich kid whose money, rather than any talent, has taken him to the top of the greasy pole.

 

Compared to Boris, Cameron is staid, dull and pedestrian. Boris is sometimes mad and frightening but he has real brains and ability. If he truly wants to be Tory leader and Prime Minister, all he has to do is whistle; "You do know how to whistle, don't you, Boris ? You just put your lips together and blow !"