Getting Applause From the People Who Applaud You Anyway

A comment about Brown's conference speech:

He urged activists to "dream big dreams and watch our country soar" and "reach inside ourselves for the strength of our convictions" and to "fight" for victory - earning a standing ovation in the hall.

The emphasis is mine. Because, honest to fuck, there is no achievement in a sitting Prime Minister getting a standing ovation from his own party at a party conference. It really is a given. Short of defecating in a cup and throwing it in the face of a granny, the Prime Minister is always going to get a standing ovation at the party conference, no matter what he or she does.

Yet this sort of beyond minor triumph is all Gordon Brown has left. His own party were polite to him when he made a major speech. A success in the world of Gordon Brown is the organisation that he leads not being rude to him when he addressed them. Hardly a ringing endorsement, is it?

Close the door quietly on your way out of our lives, Gordo.