Monday, October 26, 2009

Politics Can Be A Tough Cookie In Britain

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently revealed his favorite cookie-- after 24 hours of dithering about it.

The PM did nothing for his reputation for indecision when he refused to give a straight answer to the vital issue during a live web chat. The next day, he tried to bring the "Biscuitgate" controversy to an end by announcing that he was partial to chocolate ones. Even then, he would not be pinned down and declined to say whether he preferred Bourbons, chocolate digestives, Jaffa cakes or American-style chocolate-chip cookies.

The Biscuitgate row started when Brown answered questions on the Mumsnet webssite on a wide range of issues, including his recent eye problem. But it all went horribly wrong when he repeatedly failed to respond to inquiries from parents about his favorite cookies (biscuit). With a determination worthy of a gang of pitbulls, the audience put the question (a staple of past interviews on the site) to Brown no fewer than twelve times. Time and time again he refused to answer.

One questioner commented, "Maybe he needs to consult with his advisers o what would be the most vote-winning biscuit to admit to liking?" Brown left the hour-long session with the question unanswered, and afterwars Downing Street still refused to comment. But finally, Brown responded on his Twitter page writingm "I missed Mumsnet question about biscuits: the answer is absolutely anything with a bit of chocolate on it, but trying v hard to cut down."

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