Do Politicians Need To Make More Gaffes...

[agchristie]

Max Hastings thinks so. To give us an idea of what they really believe...

Isn't that what the British public want?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-3585968/We-need-politicians-make-gaffes-s-time-speak-truth-says-MAX-HASTINGS.html

[youngmafbog]

If they really are Gaffes.

I for one am pretty certain, with the PM being very PR savvy, used the opportunity to make a 'gaffe'. It is a well known method of lowering anotehr party prior to a meeting.

[Peter Pedant]

// it is a well known method of lowering another party prior to a meeting.//

or thinking about Mr Brown and 'that stupid woman' gaffe during the election he lost,

a well known method of lowering your own party prior to a meeting.

how true how true ....

- do gaffes show what people really think ? or do they show what happens when mind and mouth are disconnected and not much else?

do we want someone like Trump as prime minister ? his exclusion of muslims is now said to be "an idea" - mere musing.

[agchristie]

PP > do gaffes show what people really think ?

Whether it gives offence or not, as in Brown's case, he told us all what he really thought!

[Old_Geezer]

Whether it is a gaffe or a ploy depends on the consequences. How are the Chinese, Nigerians, and Afghans going to react ? (Apart from blocking out news reports on it, that is.)

[naomi24]

Gaffe time is the only time we really do know what they think.

[jim360]

Afghanistan's president Ashraf Ghani was on radio this morning explaining that it wasn't really a gaffe, at least not about Afghanistan. It was true, truth is the first step on the road to solving a problem, and Cameron shouldn't apologise.

More broadly, I suppose it depends on what the gaffe reveals about the politician. And whether we can really do anything about it. For myself, I'd rather not hold gaffes against politicians unless absolutely necessary.