To a rattled man

Since publishing my last blog I’ve caught up with Mark
Sainsbury’s Close Up interview of Keisha Castle-Hughes
about John Key's ‘Stick to acting’ crack. With a complete
lack of umbrage or affectedness she handled herself very
impressively, I thought, putting Key in his place with the
kind of finesse he himself could do with a bit of. Poor
man, she all but said, he has a lot on his plate and may
not always cope as best he could. The Government's
been rattled by the strong support the campaign for
tougher carbon-emission reductions has been getting.
She even offered to sit down with him and help him to
better understand the issue, with which he was clearly
struggling. ‘I don’t envy his position at a time like this,'
concluded Castle-Hughes, who on this consummate
performance could probably stand for election herself
and easily win.

I note that even ace right-wing blogger David Farrar, a
staunch supporter of the current government, calls Key’s
comment a rare misstep, an 'unforced error,' which for
some reason he seems to think makes it less damaging
than a forced one. In fact, free to say whatever he liked
about the issue, in a speech he was delivering in Brisbane,
with no pressure whatsoever, Key chose to say something
patronizing and gratuitously offensive. Let's hope it does
prove to be as rare a misstep as Farrar believes.