Madam, – It seems that virtually every excuse in the book has been wheeled out to explain that infamous radio interview: congestion, a hoarse throat, a bad cold, and distraction caused by the clattering of knives, forks and teapots.
Lehman Brothers, anyone? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – A night is a long time in politics. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Are Irish politicians and the Irish media living in cloud-cuckoo-land that they would damage our image further for the sake of headlines or political point-scoring?
Brian Cowen was, of course, wrong to agree to an interview he was not ready for. It was an error of judgment, but to deliberately turn it into a world news event while the eyes of the world are focused on us and the state of our economy is a far greater error of judgment. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Brian Cowen may have got one thing right. This is a new low for Irish politics. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – At least Brian Cowen's Morning Irelandinterview didn't precipitate a presidential resignation.
Perhaps Simon Coveney is too young to remember Fine Gael’s Paddy Donegan’s tired and emotional “thundering disgrace” outburst way back in 1976. Politicians in glasshouses . . . – Yours, etc,
Madam, – First Dan Boyle and now Simon Coveney. You don’t need any political backbone or scruples to tweet. Politicians of real integrity speak their mind in the seat they were elected to sit in – not from a swivel chair in front of their mobile phone at home. – Yours, etc,
Madam, The hoarse has bolted. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Just a little hiccup? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Should not the Twitter Dáil follow the Twitter format and reduce its 166 dysfunctional characters to 140? – Yours, etc,