John Prescott: Rodeo Clown

When I was young and on a visit to the US, I was taken to a rodeo. I watched the cowboys mount angry bulls which were then released together into the arena. A violent dance then began with the bull trying to buck the cowboy from his back and the cowboy holding on for dear life or at least for dear prize money or bravado. If the bull was successful and the cowboy came crashing to the ground, the bull would then turn to the cowboy with the intention to trample and/or gouge him. This is when the rodeo clowns came in. They were there to distract the bull from the recovering cowboy on the ground so that he could escape the irate bovine. There were always a few of them, enough to confuse the bull if they worked as a team. Most people will have seen similar in cowboy films and a good example is Stir Crazy with Gene Wilder and the late Richard Prior.

John Prescott announced yesterday that he has battled with Bulemia Nervosa throughout his political career. Before I continue, I have to admit to not having too huge a problem with Prescott in fact I would probably like him if it wasn't for his politics. I am of the opinion that Prescott didn't try as hard as the others to be something he wasn't. I also know a little bit about Bulemia and its effects on sufferers and those around them so I feel sorry for him that he suffered with it. I am also aware that the reason it came to light is that he has written and is starting to promote his book.

However, I cant help being at least a little sceptical about the timing and nature of the announcement. Ever since Jo Moore a labour party press officer told the party that it would be a good idea to bury bad news on 9/11, I am incredibly sceptical about the content and timing of pretty much anything labour releases or says. I think I'm probably more sceptical about what they say after ten years of Blair though. The fact is, the government has not had a good time lately and one could draw similarities from my story of the rodeo.

Brown is a cowboy...or should that be...Brown is the cowboy? I know my own thoughts. He's been on the bull (the British people or alternatively maybe his party) and it was released. It's also thrown him though and at the moment he is down on the floor (look at the polls). What happens next? In comes the rodeo clown(s) to deflect the bull's attention away from him. Cue Prescott with his eating disorder. Now again, I am not trying to trivialise his illness, but I would've thought that this man would've had a bit more interesting stuff happen in his life than that. He's been the deputy PM for years after all and has always appeared to be a little more colourful than the rest of his dreary party. However here we are faced with the "fat" guy on the team revealing his struggles with an eating disorder traditionally (although incorrectly) associated with teenage girls.

The distraction worked. However it could only ever have worked for the shortest of time. In comparison, the tax crisis, credit crunch, falling house prices, rising gun crime, hospital super bugs, immigration (and the list goes on and on) are all problems that are likely to be with us for years into the future thanks to government policy over the last ten years. Gordon's problem is not now that he is on the floor because the first of the clowns has appeared and it probably won't be long before others arrive. The problem is that now he's not on top of the bull any more, he cannot remain in the bull ring forever and he should really try to find a way to escape the bull before it starts to ignore the clowns and refocuses on the cowboy who tried to wear it down in the first place.