One of the urtexts for understanding Conservative campaign strategy is a 2004 Times op-ed by George Osborne on what the Tories could learn from the Bush campaign. One section of it strikes me as being relevant to the question of what the Tories should do about Brown’s lies, I’m instinctively uncomfortable with using the l word but I really don’t see what else I can call them. Osborne wrote:
“Character attacks on his opponent almost never come from the President’s own lips. They come out anonymously in TV ads or by e-mail from the campaign’s HQ in Virginia…. For Mr Bush knows that in politics the message tells you a lot about the messenger.”
If David Cameron was to come out and call Brown a liar, it would lead every TV bulletin and be splashed across every front page.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in