Am I too sceptical when I think of Dave and Nick taking tea in Downing Street and saying to each other "Look we know there's not a hope in hell of a Lib Dem win; we've worked pretty well together so far; let's appear to squabble in public - the media is SO easily fooled by "a good story" but in reality let's make sure you win your seats, we win ours and you don't have to share lodgings with that ghastly Wallace and Gromit man".

And various spin doctors saying "Look - Savile's dead but great story. Girls going to Syria? Great story. Jihadi John? Great story. Anything to take readers and viewers away from noticing the real problems…"

And ISIS planners going "we need more of a Satanic image. Beheading is spectacular and media loves it; it worked for Henry VIII. Let's now chop off a few children's heads…"

And media bosses getting stupider and stupider and more easily fooled?

JK2006 wrote:
Am I too sceptical when I think of Dave and Nick taking tea in Downing Street and saying to each other "Look we know there's not a hope in hell of a Lib Dem win; we've worked pretty well together so far; let's appear to squabble in public - the media is SO easily fooled by "a good story" but in reality let's make sure you win your seats, we win ours and you don't have to share lodgings with that ghastly Wallace and Gromit man".

And various spin doctors saying "Look - Savile's dead but great story. Girls going to Syria? Great story. Jihadi John? Great story. Anything to take readers and viewers away from noticing the real problems…"

And ISIS planners going "we need more of a Satanic image. Beheading is spectacular and media loves it; it worked for Henry VIII. Let's now chop off a few children's heads…"

And media bosses getting stupider and stupider and more easily fooled?

No. The Zinoviev Letter did quite well over a century ago in fooling the public. It was ever thus. The means have merely become more pervasive. It's why I hope the wretched TV debates don't happen - they're of no value to the public and only excite the media and politicians, who find such stage-managed exercises in over-spun spin so fascinating.

Yes - the debates are a total waste of space.