There's an exquisite short story by the great PG Wodehouse called The Nodder. It concerns a movie mogul with the wonderful name of I.Q. Fishbein. When Fishbein calls a meeting, he has sitting around the table with him, two top "Yes Men", two "Vice Yes Sirs", and of course his "Junior Yes Men". They all know their places. Each must respond according to their title to any proposal made by the boss.
But the hero of the story is one Wilmut Mulliner, who is superior to all the others - except of course for I.Q. himself.
Wilmut is the nodder. While the others obediently chirrup "Yes sir", Wilmut merely nods, silently and sagely.
If you watched the egregious Osbourne delivering his 2011 budget speech, you will recognise the latter-day Wilmut.
Sitting behind Osborne were Ant and Dec, our joint prime ministers and, because we must now think in terms of the happiness index as well as the cost of living index, joint masters of mirth.
Ant Cameron, of course, is an enthusiast for anything proposed by his fellow Bullingdon Club member. But Dec Clegg? Well, Dec is the nodder.
Except that that he kept forgetting to nod. Most of the time, he appeared to be lost in profound depression. Now this could be because his poll ratings have fallen faster even than Osborne's growth projections.
But I wonder whether he had just heard that Ant is going to reduce him to the ranks and put him on a level with other Liberal Democrat ministers.
In other words, merely a yes man. If you agree, just nod.
Today's listening: Jorma Kaukonen, Mexicali Blues Cafe, Teaneck, NJ in 2007. A great show in which Jorma speaks fondly of fans who tell him "My parents used to be Deadheads".
But the hero of the story is one Wilmut Mulliner, who is superior to all the others - except of course for I.Q. himself.
Wilmut is the nodder. While the others obediently chirrup "Yes sir", Wilmut merely nods, silently and sagely.
If you watched the egregious Osbourne delivering his 2011 budget speech, you will recognise the latter-day Wilmut.
Sitting behind Osborne were Ant and Dec, our joint prime ministers and, because we must now think in terms of the happiness index as well as the cost of living index, joint masters of mirth.
Ant Cameron, of course, is an enthusiast for anything proposed by his fellow Bullingdon Club member. But Dec Clegg? Well, Dec is the nodder.
Except that that he kept forgetting to nod. Most of the time, he appeared to be lost in profound depression. Now this could be because his poll ratings have fallen faster even than Osborne's growth projections.
But I wonder whether he had just heard that Ant is going to reduce him to the ranks and put him on a level with other Liberal Democrat ministers.
In other words, merely a yes man. If you agree, just nod.
Today's listening: Jorma Kaukonen, Mexicali Blues Cafe, Teaneck, NJ in 2007. A great show in which Jorma speaks fondly of fans who tell him "My parents used to be Deadheads".
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