"Stop the campaign, I’ve lost!”

Cowardice

John McCain said he was suspending his campaign to return to Washington to deal with the financial crisis.

Yesterday’s Washington Post's poll reflects recent trends and puts McCain a record nine points behind Obama. When is deep trouble, panic.

On Friday he was due to face Obama in a televised debate.  The eloquent Obama will expose the stumbling McCain.  This pitiful ploy to cancel campaigning is an act of transparent cowardice.

Barack Obama said it was "more important than ever" for US citizens to hear from the person who would soon be "dealing with this mess".

The accusation that MCain's motive is to avoid direct debate with Obama is persuasive. The locus that the two Congressmen have is slight as Congressmen, compared with their dominant potential role as the future President. In the past the television debates have cemented many votes. Obama has little choice but to go along with the McCain's retreat. It's impossible to fight if the opponent runs away.

No victories are won from the touchline.

Newport Dictatorship

I was shocked to hear from a member (un-named) of the new Newport Con-Lib cabinet that he took no part in the decision to sell the city's Mansion House. It was the decision of one man only - the ineffable Peter Davies.

No other councillor was involved in this decision which will lose the city an asset it has been able to afford for 100 years. Peter Davies has irritated friend and foe by his swaggering abuse of power. The new set-up on the Council does give individual cabinet members great powers to act alone. In the past it was used sparingly and only in emergency situations. Big controversial decisions were open to scrutiny by other councillors. The cabinet system is not intended to create half a dozen petty dictators.

The other members of Council must not allow themselves to be walked over. Once lost, the Mansion House will never be replaced.

Beeb Bamboozled

The BBC was hoodwinked today by a charity that has taken cash from Big Pharma.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) says drugs such as Ritalin should be avoided - and must not be given to the under-fives. They called for more parental education to avoid drug-pushing to tots.

There is a powerful, scientifically reputable, body of opinion that says ADHD does not exist. It could be the normal exuberance of youth that has not been channelled into good behaviour by over indulgent parents. Ritalin is easier than good parenting.

Today's message was sound. The guidelines, which cover England, Wales and Northern Ireland, say parent training and education programmes should be offered as a first-line treatment for ADHD, both for pre-school and school age children.

But the Beeb allowed the ADHD charity to muscle in and steal the message. Andrea Bilbow, chief executive of the ADHD charity ADDISS questioned how helpful the parent training programmes would be to parents."Parenting programmes are extremely important, but they need to be specific for ADHD."

Allegations were persuasively made a few years ago that ADDISS are also being secretly financed by the pharmaceutical companies, which make the controversial "chemical cosh" drugs.

ADDISS admitted receiving five-figure sums from the drug giants and one of the companies involved conceded that a desire to sell more of its product was one of its motives for providing the finance.

Critics claim that its use is unnecessary in many instances, as the children are exhibiting natural traits for their age, which can be alleviated with dietary measures.

ADDISS has received funding from three of the major pharmaceutical companies that make methylphenidate and other ADHD medications, which have been accused of sparking suicidal behaviour and liver problems in children.

Andrea Bilbow, the founder and chief executive of ADDISS, admitted that her group had solicited and received total funding of around £20,000 from Janssen-Cilag, which makes Concerta, a form of methylphenidate, UCB Pharma, which also produces another branded form of the drug, and Eli Lilly, which makes a form of atomoxetine, another ADHD drug which is linked to an increased suicide risk in children.

Andrea Bilbow said, ‘We don't sell our soul to the devil but we can't survive without them."

 Today Andrea was all over the media. Not one interviewer that I heard asked her whether she was funded and influenced by Big Pharma.

You are being walked over Beeb.

Comments

[Johnny Boy]

"Stop the campaign, I’ve lost!”

No Mr Flynn, McCain talks the talk and walks the walk. Unlike the pen pushing Obama who talks the talk and like Tony Blair, delivers forgettable throw-away garbage faster than a Big Mac outlet.

I've said before the US election is between style (Obama) and content (McCain). McCain stopped his campaign and went to Washington to negotiate while Obama postured in the sticks on his self-publicising election campaign. The message is getting through (hopefully!) that Obama is another Blair. A smooth talking self publicist who's only understanding of delivery is a pizza van.

When did Labour ever ask the British public if they wanted to throw their good money after the rotten banks North Rock and Brad & Bingley? Are you listening?

Oh I forgot. The Labour way. You don't even bother to ask before you ripp hard working people off to bail out rotten debt. Obama (and Labour) doesn't give a damn, they're so far 'in' with their minority interest lunching groups.

If Obama was half a man he'd stop his vacuous words campaign. Like the Democrats $700bn rescue plan that transfers rotten business (where it should stay) to a rotten government and paid for by good hard-working people. Another Socialist swindle.

[Huw O'Sullivan]

I would point out that one point that I did note was that Obama did refer to rogue states "such as Iran and Venezuela".
I find it hard to see why you put so much faith in the US presidential candidate for the democratic party who represents no change whatsoever in US attitude to the rest of the world.
Which to put simply is, "democratic states that we oppose will be classed by us the same as dictatorships or other non democracies that we oppose and be called rogue. Dictatorships and other non democracies that support us will get classed by us the same as democracies who support us and labelled friends and allies."

[Huw O'Sullivan]

Paul, the first debate between the US presidential candidates has now happened.
As I have only seen parts of it, could you perhaps suggest any particular part of it that demonstrates the massive separation between the two candidates and shows Obama in the light you so consistently insist shines either upon him or from him.

[Paul Flynn]

It's the world worst nightmare Graham. It brings back memories of Barry Goldwater and his threats to nuke USA's enemies. She gets worse. I saw the video of her being protected from witchcraft.

Did they know who they were taking on?

[Graham Marlowe]

It is very concerning that Mrs Palin could, conceivably become President when you consider her ridiculous and dangerous ideas. She would be even more dangerous than McCain or even Bush, and that is saying something. The woman seems to gloat about her bone-headed ignorance.

[Paul Flynn]

Huw, the choice is between an able visionary with a powerful mind and fresh ideas against a semi-Bushite McCain who could be replaced by the creationist Palin.

What choice is that?

[Huw O'Sullivan]

Paul you are seriously becoming Blair like in your convictions about the US elections.
Is McCain taking a gamble on suspending the campaign in an effort to deal with the fallout from the credit crunch, indubitably.
Is it mostly spin and gamesmanship, almost certainly, almost entirely.
Will it make him look like someone who considers the fate of the nation more important than whether he wins office, possibly.
If that is so, his credibility will go up.
I have no desire to see either of the candidates win apart from a rather racist. small, well it would be nice if a black person gained office, just to show it can be done.
On international policies, they are as bad as one another, they will both continue the theft of Iraq, they will both wholeheartedly support Israel in its treatment of Palestinians, they will both support Columbia and seek to destabilise Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia.
They will both continue long standing US policies of supporting dictatorships and overthrowing democracies.
Whether one will be slightly better for US citizens within the US is at best debatable.
The Democratic party may well be a sister party with New Labour, but it is no natural friend to the left wing as the term is understood anywhere outside the US.
Obama may well be a better speaker than McCain and McCain may well be crazier than a sackful of rabid kittens but fundamentally they are both transcribing and rephrasing from the same set of options made available by big business and long standing US attitudes.
One may sound nicer, more reasonable but then the biggest disaster to befall the real Labour party in recent years, Blair sounded reasonable.
I know people who are otherwise moderately sane who believed him about Iraq because he
seemed honest and credible about his "belief" that the results would vindicate his view.
They believed that he had evidence that they did not have access to, rather than using their basic common sense and noticing that whenever he presented anything checkable it was almost instantaneously demonstrated to be a falsehood.
Smooth credible talkers do not make the best leaders, although at least in this country we also do not expect utter morons to somehow better them.
The States have had their moron in chief now for 2 terms, either of the candidates will be better than that but it is a very low bar and does not mean either of them will be any better for the mass of their own people and the only real guarantee is that neither will be an improvement for the rest of the world.

There are lots of ways to deal with ADHD which does indeed exist although at much, much tinier levels than we are supposed to believe. Drugs should be the absolutely last option, effective parenting techniques along with some specific ADHD handling techniques and dietary adjustment should be far and away the primary methods.
It is disturbing that ADDISS get any funding from the same people who make money from selling what are in most cases completely unnecessary drugs.

BTW still willing to have a bet with you that McCain will win.