"Heads down and tin hats on while news stories fly..." said Boris Johnson's website yesterday after news broke of an alleged affair between the Tory higher education spokesman and a journalist for the Times Higher Education Supplement.
"In this media age we must be adept at handling anything that comes our way and we, in the Boris Johnson MP office, have every confidence that Boris's talent and ability can weather any storm."
Let's hope so, because the Henley-on-Thames MP is likely to take a battering over the next few days. It wasn't that long ago Johnson was sacked from the Conservative frontbench for lying about an affair with a Spectator colleague.
Fortunately for Johnson, he has an army of supporters who rushed to his defence on www.boris-johnson.com yesterday.
"The News of the World are shits," wrote Rupert Speyer. "Did not Christ say let him without sin cast the first stone[?] You are one of the very few in public life who ring a chord with us. Good luck and remember you are not alone."
A posting under the name Macarnie adds: "The News and screws have done it, once again they've stirred the s**t [sic], Grub Street hacks have cast aspersions, digging deeper in the pit. Who really cares if Boris does a turn; even if t'were on the side? It's just their petty jealousies, which other journos cannot hide. It's none of their damn business, how and where he dips his wick. Alleged indiscretions! Though of course, thrown mud does stick."
Melissa thinks it's all been blown out of proportion.
"He needs a good reinforced tin hat. One day he will get a crown of glory: for now it is a matter of avoiding the rotten tomatoes thrown at him."
Other postings on the website talk about being tempted to join the Tory party, question the ethics of the media for reporting such stories, and ask where he finds the time for an (alleged) affair in his busy schedule.
Only one person questions whether these allegations will affect his ability to do his job.
Johnson's appointment as higher education spokesman under David Cameron came as a surprise to many observers. Some dismissed his appointment as a joke, others hoped he would be a breath of fresh air in the sometimes stuffy corridors on academia.
Writing in Education Guardian in January, Donald MacLeod wrote that his "scatty public persona" could be a valuable political asset. "It enables the MP for Henley-on-Thames to do what most politicians find almost impossible these days: think aloud."
All of which is true, but will vice-chancellors be keen to speak to Johnson on issues such as raising the cap on tuition fees, or replacing the research assessment exercise or widening participation if they can't take him seriously - or worry he won't take their concerns seriously?
Students, in Scotland at least, have mixed feelings about him. Despite getting a large number of nominations when he ran for the post of rector at Edinburgh University earlier this year, he had beer thrown over him from less than enthusiastic members of the student fraternity.
Cameron may be going all out to revive the fortunes of the party, but will Johnson prove to be more a liability than an asset?
