I mean, give him a break. Okay, so his memory failed him over 20 times*. But we've all been there. We've all had memory lapses from time to time. We all have hectic lives, rushing from pillar to post, trying to keep all the balls in the air, trying to keep it all together. We can't remember every little detail.
If a media tycoon asks you to bend a few rules so he can get his hands on a tasty little business with no questions asked, you're not necessarily going to remember, are you? Especially if you're being distracted by the gorgeous, pouting Rebekah Brooks with her big hair and flirtatious glances. Obviously, a man loses his concentration in such circumstances.
Heavens above, who remembers all these trivial minutiae nowadays? There's so much to absorb and our brains are only so large. There's too much new information jostling for attention, shoving all the old stuff out of the way, pushing it down into some inaccessible corner of our grey matter. Who can retrieve all these scraps at a moment's notice?
Just last week Jenny asked me if it was true that I was seen at a notorious "house of pleasure" with a certain buxom blonde. I had to say that quite honestly I couldn't remember everything I'd done that afternoon, particularly with all the potent medication I was taking for my athlete's foot. As far as I could recall I was discussing an ambiguous passage in Deuteronomy with my local vicar. Well, it was either that or Leviticus, I'm not entirely certain.
No, I''m sure the Prime Minister is genuinely forgetful. After all, he did accidentally leave his daughter in a pub in Buckinghamshire a couple of months ago. His memory isn't what it used to be.
* when he appeared at the Leveson Inquiry into the culture, practice and ethics of the press
At least Jenny didn't quiz you about being under the table with a granny!
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean you don't remember?
Oh Nick, I am so glad to read your charitable piece. Indeed, I have every sympathy with the dear PM myself. After all, nobody's perfect, eh?
ReplyDeleteGrannymar - I don't recall that. When did this allegedly take place?
ReplyDeleteJenny - Indeed, nobody's perfect. The Prime Minister has much more important things to think about. Like tennis and karaoke.
you must be thinking of a different rebekah brooks cos the one i see isnt gorgeous or flirtatious :)
ReplyDeleteReminds me of when one of our Supreme Court nominees, Clarence Thomas, had to face questions about his alleged sexual harassment of his former employee, Anita Hill. I don't know if that story made it your way but he repeatedly harassed her and yet he claimed no memory of any of it. The Bush administration confirmed his as a Supreme Court Justice in spite of what he'd done. It was sickening.
ReplyDeleteKylie - I agree with you, but I'm sure there are plenty of men who're mesmerised by her. Ditto Margaret Thatcher.
ReplyDeleteAgent - The Clarence Thomas business was reported over here, and a sickening business it was. Men still happily conspire to deny each other's misbehaviour.
A cousin to amnesia are the folks who are only sorry once they are caught. It's always deny, deny, deny, then once it becomes fact....apologize, apologize, apologize.
ReplyDeleteNick, tricks of the trade are now in reverse flow. India's revenge for the colonial rule. Memory lapses are being exported in bulk by our own politicos. Great foreign exchange earner for us. Some compensation for all the loot that our politicos have conveniently forgotten about.
ReplyDeleteBijoux - Very true. Or if they can't quite bring themselves to apologise, they "regret" whatever happened.
ReplyDeleteRamana - Memory lapses are being exported in bulk? I don't quite follow you....
Poor Dave got so forgetful he left his child behind in the pub. That poor family....
ReplyDeleteSpeccy - Perhaps he'll forget about all those public spending cuts he promised a few months back....
ReplyDeleteWhat do they prescribe for athlete's foot in your neck of the woods Nick?
ReplyDeleteMyra - Ha, you don't really want an answer to that question, do you? You do? Actually I haven't had athlete's foot for many years, and the medication has probably changed since then.
ReplyDeleteKeep those questions coming, folks....
Our politicos are past masters in this feint. They conveniently forget instructions they gave, people they met and women they had affairs with and reneged on promises and so on and so forth. This has been going on here for decades.
ReplyDeleteRamana - I see what you mean. Yes, our politicians seem to be learning fast from the Indian example. It won't be long before they claim never to have met the Murdochs at all....
ReplyDeleteIt depends on the definition of what is is - Bill Clinton.
ReplyDeletePaul - Indeed. What exactly do you mean by a "secret deal", your honour? What do you mean by an "old boys' network"?
ReplyDeleteYou've just reminded me: I haven' washed yet today.
ReplyDeleteBless him, he's young for senility to set in too.
Liz - If anyone asks you whether you washed or not, you just say you can't remember. You may have done or you may not.
ReplyDeleteAhahahahahahaha! So true, so true.
ReplyDeleteI can hardly remember what I had for breakfast these days, but if you asked me whether I had any underhand dealings going on last week - or last month or last year for that matter - I can say with complete certainty 'No, I didn't'. Because, guess what? I don't do that.
Anyone who claims to have forgotten a particular piece of deliberately corrupt, illegal or immoral activity is a person who behaves in this way with startling regularity, in my opinion.
Jay - My memory is terrible. I forget names, places, events, whatever. But you're right, anyone who's "forgotten" a corrupt activity is very likely to have "forgotten" a whole lot more.
ReplyDelete