To parody the Prime Minister himself, his speech to the Tory conference was quite simply a pile of posh piffle, a wordcloud of waffle, a mash-up of metaphors and meaningless slogans.
Laughs aplenty as the Tory showman stole his own gags and promised to “build back beaver” and "build back burger".
He really said these things and the audience cheered in what amounted to a show of open contempt for the serious situation the country finds itself in.
But should the UK be so tolerant of a Prime Minister who presided over 137,000 Covid deaths, whose dithering instincts delayed a second lockdown until it was too late to save many lives?
Thanks to Brexit super-charged by Covid-19, we live in a country where cars queue for petrol, deliveries cannot be made and livestock are slaughtered for lack of meat processors.
We live in a time and with a government that is imposing the biggest welfare cut since World War II, plunging thousands into poverty, where tax hikes to put a sticking plaster on the NHS budgets will put a greater burden on the wages of the lowest paid.
But in many ways it was vintage Johnson.
Each time he pulls off his Tory crowd-pleaser, the world of politics thinks he will be found out. Each time, he gets away with it again because he cannot be pinned down effectively. That puts the spotlight the other way.
As Keir Starmer reminded Labour last week, if the Tories are that bad, how much more must the opposition to Johnson improve?
Police your men
Police Scotland has taken commendable strides in the last few years to deal with sexism and racism within its ranks.
Our own critical reporting of the force on many of these issues will have been part of that process of improvement.
However, the disturbing sexism uncovered in an employment tribunal involving armed response officers, and the staggering reaction from senior leaders when the complaints were raised in the case of PC Rhona Malone, show work is still to be done.
Police across the UK are under increased scrutiny following the horrific murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer.
That case has thrown the spotlight on the behaviour of men in the police.
Women officers still report it is hard to raise a complaint for fear of the consequences, not just in the locker room, but when they are on duty and need assistance which may not come because they have been frozen out by colleagues.
Police Scotland has to ensure its house is kept in order, that its officers are trained properly to embrace the highest standards of equality.
