So that hoary old chestnut, the opposition leader agitating for a televised debate with his adversary has come around again. Of course it's not going to happen; Gordon Brown has nothing to gain - and quite a lot to lose - by going down this route.
But say it were possible. How would it be done, given that most people seem turned off by the political process? Let's face it, three blokes in suits delivering carefully crafted soundbites instead of answering questions, either from each other or from an audience, isn't the most riveting of televisual propositions.
If Dave, Gordy and Menzies did agree to do a debate, it should be done as reality TV. I'm thinking Big Brother, but it could be just as much fun with a couple of other formats, too.
Lock 'em in the Big Brother house, if only for a couple of days. Not even the most polished politician could keep up a steady flow of spin-doctor-approved soundbites for, say, 48 hours. They'd have to address the issues at some point, surely. And wouldn't it be fun to see who snores? Hell, I'd consider voting for the party leader who was the quietest sleeper.
I'm also thinking that sending the three of them to the outback with Ant and Dec would be a good way of framing a debate. They could talk about global warming while trying to keep the fire going and about food miles while doing the Bushtucker Trials.
And what about Dumped? Oh, hang on. Two of them are going to end up on the scrapheap anyway.
