Pundit

just three letters:   Gah!

P'raps the cameraman is a staunch National man?

It does seem odd that so few of the National Front bench appear to be available for interviewing.

Key avoids fronting for serious interviews and relies on prepared statements.

The whereabouts of Key or others on any given day, is kept secret to avoid confrontation.

The EFA caused outcries about the "loss" of democracy but there seems to me to be a much more sinister blow to democracy by virtue of simply avoidance.

"It does seem odd that so few of the National Front bench ..."

I think there's a mistaken capital "F" in that sentence!

Perhaps not.  There should be a capital 'F' somewhere in that sentance.  After all aren't we talking about distractions and not real issues.  If you think about it seriously though the personality attack politics being played out between the parties really does give a rather smaller landing zone for National than the others with the Key dog and pony show. In a boxing fight it is the combinations you work and focus on the weaknesses as they develop.  With this campaign it seems to be a handbag fling and slapping fest.

Well, if that is what will be talked about this week, then the Labour leadership (small L) deserve their fate - if they were competent they would have sidelined this issue straight away and continued to push their main points.  It may be a distraction but only if Labour lets it.

As for the Greens, this nicely illustrates the problem they have with moving beyond their 'occupy' roots into the world of grown-up politics.

I dont think we should worry to much about the public focus on trivia, and little serious debate, that is how election campaigns look, day by day.

It is only when the protagonists have retired and there is new distractions abounding can we see the events with any focus.

When I was a young fellow I did not know i was selecting a wife, I thought I was trying to impress a good looking stranger.

The real  significance of the cuppagate headlines, is not just that the Key antenna still thinks the public love protecting him from the nasty leftist media, it is that the media foor the first time is actually have a go at him, pushing lines previously ignored.

Who know somebody might even ask what happened to that police inquiry over a certain credit card theft.

You know the one that had embarassing purchases on a tax funded account. The one Key said was stolen.  Yeah, right.

Is it not ironic that only a few weeks ago National were making exactly this sort of surveillance/recording legal in Criminal proceedings!

Andrew,

Thats a good point about the absence of climate change from the election campaign. It is as if a snake has swallowed 'the elephant in the room'.

Is it only 5 months since <a href="http://www.facebook.com/JamesHansenNZTour">James Hansen's speaking tour</a>?

Have we forgotten <a href="http://youtu.be/JkUifMX4xVk">everything he told us</a>?

Will I be able to complete this comment with a third rhetorical question?

Up till now, the superficiality and docility of the media has suited the incumbent government.

Now that the superficiality revolves around the Teapot Tapes, instead of hard-core issues, the same government is not liking this at all.