What first attacted you to the millionaire celebrity Paul Daniels?

One of my favourite witticisms, coined I believe by the Mrs. Merton character whilst 'interviewing' the girlfriend'/wife of the above TV person.

I was reminded of this when paying vague attention to some 'political storm' (note what I did there as it becomes pertinent quite soon) over some report by a 'thinktank' (whatever that is)... um, make that 'David Cameron's favourite right wing... thinktank'.

It seems these day there is almost nothing that gets written about, and hence identified by name, without some qualifier that can add, or detract from the thing (or person) it refers to.

What that is rather depends on what the entity doing the writing wishes to confer.

In this case I must say I have long since to notice or even care what actually may or may not have been written in this report, but like most have ended up being caught in the juicy furore associated not with the report itself, but some rather artificially created subsequent affiliation spun around the authors' relationship with another.

The actual merits, or otherwise, have become irrelevant, and the level of relationship, or indeed what Mr. Cameron's views are on one thing or other, have been totally swept aside.

Another sorry metaphor for the state of politics and media today.

Indy Letters - Fighting for a bright future in the North - Interesting to note (with eyebrow cranked) how even 'ordinary' letter writers can get caught up...'I read with amazement that David Cameron's favourite think-tank, the centre-right Policy Exchange,...' But I am sure the paper would not publish anything if it did not believ it to be objective :)

Telegraph - Policy Exchange now David Cameron's least favourite think tank - He does tend to fire folk for what people think they've said rather than what they might have, doesn't he?

Telegraph - NEW - That Policy Exchange report was written by Lib Dems - Rather makes my point. Odd that Mr. Prescott was not brought up on this when given free rein by...oh... the BBC