underdogishere

Apparently there is an election imminent to choose a mayor for the city of London. The candidate of the Tory (conservative) party is one Boris Johnson, who has something of a reputation as a buffoon. Apparently (I'm not expert on British politics) Johnson got into the race because the incumbent mayor, from the Labor (liberal) party, is running (or standing, as the British say) for reelection, and he was considered such a shoo-in that the Tories thought, "Well, we have to put forward someone as a candidate, so why not that buffoon Johnson?"

But, as we have often seen, elections can run peculiar courses. Now it appears that Johnson has a pretty decent chance of winning.

I was listening to a story about this on the radio this morning. Johnson's clownish image is to some extent hanging over his candidacy, and apparently at one point he was asked, point blank, if his buffoonry was merely a front. His answer:

Beneath the elaborately constructed veneer of the bumbling buffoon, there may well be a bumbling buffoon.

I instantly pointed at the radio and shouted, "I could vote for that guy!"

Think about it: A politician who actually admits (or at least claims to admit) that he is a buffoon! How refreshing! Boris Johnson is also a Member of Parliament (aka MP), and he has also said this:

The dreadful truth is that when people come to see their MP they have run out of better ideas.

Gotta love it.

Labels: Musing