Brian Cowen on Prime Time

Is anyone else watching this, this is the man we have running things :eek:

He's about to explode, poor Miriam, he's lost the plot not to mention any communications skills he may of had left.

eigrod

hellboy99 wrote: »

Is anyone else watching this, this is the man we have running things :eek:

He's about to explode, poor Miriam, he's lost the plot not to mention any communications skills he may of had left.

He was absolutely pathetic !

PCPhoto

looks like I missed it ..... ... some other muppet rambling on now

To call Cowen arrogant is an understatement !

Mental Mickey

eigrod wrote: »

He was absolutely pathetic !

Personally I thought he did ok. If anyone was pathetic, it was Miriam. She came across as totally condescending imo.

hotmail.com

He's fighting for his political life with all these interviews today. One wonders what's going on behind the scenes in FF.

He came across as rude, defensive and loud.

padma

ah sure, there both only a sideshow, walking away tonight with big fat healthy cheques. They are laughing away at us I say.

zig

Id love to know dohertys specific figures on balancing the books if we defaulted.

eigrod

Mental Mickey wrote: »

Personally I thought he did ok. If anyone was pathetic, it was Miriam. She came across as totally condescending imo.

She tried hard to get him to take some responsibility for the IMF being here but he downright refused to.

The world according to Brian Cowen and FF only commenced about 2 months ago and what went on the previous 15 years has nothing to do with them.

He makes me ill listening to him to be honest.

Mental Mickey

hotmail.com wrote: »

He's fighting for his political life with all these interviews today. One wonders what's going on behind the scenes in FF.

He came across as rude, defensive and loud.

Only to stop yer one from making a bigger eejit out of herself by asking "tabloid" style questions.

rkeano5

Mental Mickey wrote: »

Personally I thought he did ok. If anyone was pathetic, it was Miriam. She came across as totally condescending imo.

Totally agree, she always get's on my nerves.

Mental Mickey

eigrod wrote: »

She tried hard to get him to take some responsibility for the IMF being here but he downright refused to.

The world according to Brian Cowen and FF only commenced about 2 months ago and what went on the previous 15 years has nothing to do with them.

He makes me ill listening to him to be honest.

Simple solution then - change the channel.

Clarehobo

TBH I don't think she asked any great questions - she went for very emotive questions rather than focusing on actual policy.

I don't understand why it wasn't Lenihan being interviewed.

At the end of the day, Lenihan is the finance minister who should be answering for the banking guarantee and the budget.

Cowen may be former finance minister and an Taoiseach, but it is the current department of finance that is calling the shots money wise.

Teclo

zig wrote: »

Id love to know dohertys specific figures on balancing the books if we defaulted.

No point going into a bank with a balaclava and a beretta to raise funds, the vault is empty.

cml387

hotmail.com wrote: »

He's fighting for his political life with all these interviews today. One wonders what's going on behind the scenes in FF.

He came across as rude, defensive and loud.

Maybe that's because he is rude,defensive and loud.

All through today he's been bellowing like a mangy bull.

Not one ounce of humility. Truly the worst leader this country has ever produced,and he's up against some pretty stiff opposition.

rkeano5

hotmail.com wrote: »

He's fighting for his political life with all these interviews today. One wonders what's going on behind the scenes in FF.

He came across as rude, defensive and loud.

I wouldn't blame him, he has lost his cool a bit recently

Mental Mickey

cml387 wrote: »

Maybe that's because he is rude,defensive and loud.

All through today he's been bellowing like a mangy bull.

Not one ounce of humility. Truly the worst leader this country has ever produced,and he's up against some pretty stiff opposition.

Do you think Kenny or (un)Happy Gilmore would do any better? I doubt they would....?

namloc1980

zig wrote: »

Id love to know dohertys specific figures on balancing the books if we defaulted.

Listening to Doherty and some of Sinn Fein's economic policies made me shudder. They haven't a clue. And Joan Burton isn't much better.

Zynks

Mental Mickey wrote: »

Do you think Kenny or (un)Happy Gilmore would do any better? I doubt they would....?

There isn't much space left to do worse, is there?

murrayp4

Mental Mickey wrote: »

Do you think Kenny or (un)Happy Gilmore would do any better? I doubt they would....?

Well Cowen has set the bar pretty low...

Mental Mickey

namloc1980 wrote: »

Listening to Donherty and some of Sinn Fein's economic policies made me shudder. They haven't a clue. And Joan Burton isn't much better.

Sinn Fein's "philosophy" is that everything should be free for everyone. :rolleyes:

zig

I won't lie, id prefer a default myself, but im not gonna pretend it wouldnt inflict a massive amount of pain on the short term.

Happyman42

Cowen is being coached, I thought he was quite impressive, Miriam was at sea...he really showed her up as lightweight.

Clarehobo

Clarehobo wrote: »

TBH I don't think she asked any great questions.

She couldn't get a word in for him.

LeeroyJones

Miriam O'Callaghan was interviewing our Taoiseach on our national broadcaster, one would be forgiven if she was freelancing for one of our many tabloids.

Remember, Fianna Fáil and Brian Cowen were elected democratically. Now we seem only too happy to point the finger even when the majority of this country gave them a vote.

I am not happy with the last few years and my vote will not be going to FF in the future, but we still must respect the Department of An Taoiseach, irrespective of our political opinions.

hotmail.com

There are rumours on politics.ie from reputable sources that a heave on Cowen will start tomorrow - they need 18 signatories (I think) to force a leadership election.

Hence, the reason for all these defensive, "robust" interviews.

Mental Mickey

Happyman42 wrote: »

Cowen is being coached, I thought he was quite impressive, Miriam was at sea...he really showed her up as lightweight.

Totally. She looked like she was ****ting herself!? She should be presenting stuff like "Xpose" on TV3 instead.

Mental Mickey

hotmail.com wrote: »

There are rumours on politics.ie from reputable sources that a heave on Cowen will start tomorrow - they need 18 signatories (I think) to force a leadership election.

Hence, the reason for all these defensive, "robust" interviews.

Only rumours. Not concrete stories.

Morebypasses

Can't wait for head to head between Cowen and Enda!!!!!!! Cowen will eat him up!! Should be entertaining!!!

Mental Mickey

Morebypasses wrote: »

Can't wait head to head between Cowen and Enda!!!!!!! Cowen will eat him up!! Should be entertaining!!!

He'll have him for breakfast.

MagicMarker

Clarehobo wrote: »

I don't understand why it wasn't Lenihan being interviewed.

At the end of the day, Lenihan is the finance minister who should be answering for the banking guarantee and the budget.

Cowen may be former finance minister and an Taoiseach, but it is the current department of finance that is calling the shots money wise.

He was on last night.

I don't its unreasonable for our prime minister to answer these kinds of questions. Call me crazy :rolleys:

eigrod

Morebypasses wrote: »

Can't wait for head to head between Cowen and Enda!!!!!!! Cowen will eat him up!! Should be entertaining!!!

Anybody who votes based solely on the leadership debate should have the right to vote taken off them.

Bertie was great on the tv. Meanwhile he was crucifying the country with the policies and practices he and his party were overseeing.

hotmail.com

Mental Mickey wrote: »

Only rumours. Not concrete stories.

That's kind of why I said it was a rumour.

It makes complete sense - I've never seen him so animated in any other interviews. He must know there's a serious campaign to oust him.

irishh_bob

hellboy99 wrote: »

Is anyone else watching this, this is the man we have running things :eek:

He's about to explode, poor Miriam, he's lost the plot not to mention any communications skills he may of had left.

ive said it once but il say it again , cowen is a grumpy oul bollocks but thats all he is

PCPhoto

LeeroyJones wrote: »

Miriam O'Callaghan was interviewing our Taoiseach on our national broadcaster, one would be forgiven if she was freelancing for one of our many tabloids.

Remember, Fianna Fáil and Brian Cowen were elected democratically. Now we seem only too happy to point the finger even when the majority of this country gave them a vote.

I am not happy with the last few years and my vote will not be going to FF in the future, but we still must respect the Department of An Taoiseach, irrespective of our political opinions.

B0llox !

- why respect a department and a person who has been used as a pawn for years and is either at present either too ignorant to realise he was used or too stupid to acknowledge that his advisors are giving him bad advice....its almost as if he has no opinion and no idea on what to do.

Cowan should resign as Taoiseach and leave the country as punishment ...or at least resign from politics.... like pretty much ANYONE else currently involved in politics....they should resign from politics and let new people come in ....proper business leaders who will look at the figures and assess the situation properly before making decisions.

Clarehobo

hellboy99 wrote: »

She couldn't get a word in for him.

She got plenty of words in and the questions she did ask were along the lines of "Do you see yourself in this job come Feburary?" and the usual "Are you sorry? Blah blah" tripe.

Ask him proper questions! If I got an opportunity to ask him some hard hitting questions, I wouldn't be asking the TV3/Sky news equivalent that Miriam rolled out.
IMO Brian Dobson would have handled him better and asked more relevant questions than "Are you sorry?"

irishh_bob

Mental Mickey wrote: »

Do you think Kenny or (un)Happy Gilmore would do any better? I doubt they would....?

spoken like a true FF voter

Mental Mickey

Clarehobo wrote: »

She got plenty of words in and the questions she did ask were along the lines of "Do you see yourself in this job come Feburary?" and the usual "Are you sorry? Blah blah" tripe.

Ask him proper questions! If I got an opportunity to ask him some hard hitting questions, I wouldn't be asking the TV3/Sky news equivalent that Miriam rolled out.
IMO Brian Dobson would have handled him better and asked more relevant questions than "Are you sorry?"

Bryan Dobson should have been doing that interview - you're bang on the money there.

Mental Mickey

irishh_bob wrote: »

spoken like a true FF voter

Do you really think they would?

LeeroyJones

PCPhoto wrote: »

B0llox !

- why respect a department and a person who has been used as a pawn for years and is either at present either too ignorant to realise he was used or too stupid to acknowledge that his advisors are giving him bad advice....its almost as if he has no opinion and no idea on what to do.

Well, maybe because they were elected by the People of Ireland in a democratic vote (I don't seem to remember anyone complaining about the voting system prior to that particular election-so that was never an issue).

Passing the book is easy, isn't it?!

super_furry

Heard him on the radio this morning and it was more of the same bluster. The hilarious thing is that he's actually in campaign mode now, and this is his way of attempting to win over voters. He's actually going to try and stand for reelection!

Clarehobo

MagicMarker wrote: »

He was on last night.

I don't its unreasonable for our prime minister to answer these kinds of questions. Call me crazy :rolleys:

Sorry, wasn't watching it last night so missed that.

I agree with you that an Taoiseach should be answering questions, but the quality of the questions that were being asked were more suited to a tabloid(As someone said earlier). She could have asked some excellent questions but just wasted the interview.

LeeroyJones

irishh_bob wrote: »

spoken like a true FF voter

He makes a very simple, yet extremely valid point though. As I stated earlier, I have no intention to vote for FF currently - but Enda and Gilmore inspire nothing. The last few months/years was an open goal for them effectively. All they needed to do was play it safe and they would be a popular vote - yet they've blazed it over the bar!

Morebypasses

eigrod wrote: »

Anybody who votes based solely on the leadership debate should have the right to vote taken off them.

Bertie was great on the tv. Meanwhile he was crucifying the country with the policies and practices he and his party were overseeing.

You must be a blue shirt! Is that going to be your defence when ye have to pick Enda up from the floor after the debate! I won't be voting for FF by the way.

namloc1980

Doherty and Burton are like a couple of children in the playground.....God help us.

PCPhoto

LeeroyJones wrote: »

Well, maybe because they were elected by the People of Ireland in a democratic vote (I don't seem to remember anyone complaining about the voting system prior to that particular election-so that was never an issue).

Passing the book is easy, isn't it?!

Cowan as Taoiseach was not appointed by anyone that I voted for ....he was "choosen" by fellow Fianna Fail member.....and he only got the job because B-B-B-Bertie could see what was coming ...and jumped ship.

if you listen carefully you will ALWAYS hear someone complaining about the voting system prior to every election - mainly due to "re-zoning" of areas to include known areas of popular opinion of the part in power at the time....a lot of the complaining is pub-talk.

Just to Make sure you get my point ... Cowan was NOT voted Taoiseach by the public - he was given the job by his fellow Fianna Failures.

Clarehobo

super_furry wrote: »

Heard him on the radio this morning and it was more of the same bluster. The hilarious thing is that he's actually in campaign mode now, and this is his way of attempting to win over voters. He's actually going to try and stand for reelection!

Totally agree there - he is on the offensive now since the budget has passed.
It's down to his constituency to decide if he is what they want in a TD.

The country may be angry with him and Lenihan, but if their constituencies re-elect them we will still have to pay their wages.

namloc1980

Morebypasses wrote: »

You must be a blue shirt! Is that going to be your defence when ye have to pick Enda up from the floor after the debate! I won't be voting for FF by the way.

The Blueshirts ceased to exist 77 years ago. Why do people still hark back to Civil War politics? It's 2010.......GET OVER IT!!!!

eigrod

Morebypasses wrote: »

You must be a blue shirt! Is that going to be your defence when ye have to pick Enda up from the floor after the debate! I won't be voting for for FF by the way.

Oh ffs. So you think the leader's debate is that important and that Bertie's tv performances were worthy of people voting for him without bothering to even scratch a little behind the teflon exterior ?

Never have voted for FG in my 25 years eligible voting years by the way.

LeeroyJones

PCPhoto wrote: »

Cowan as Taoiseach was not appointed by anyone that I voted for ....he was "choosen" by fellow Fianna Fail member.....and he only got the job because B-B-B-Bertie could see what was coming ...and jumped ship.

if you listen carefully you will ALWAYS hear someone complaining about the voting system prior to every election - mainly due to "re-zoning" of areas to include known areas of popular opinion of the part in power at the time....a lot of the complaining is pub-talk.

Just to Make sure you get my point ... Cowan was NOT voted Taoiseach by the public - he was given the job by his fellow Fianna Failures.

I get it, you don't like Fianna Fáil.

As Cowen rightly pointed out after Miriam made the same error today, he was elected to the Dáil by the public like every other TD, and then An Dáil voted for An Taoiseach - like EVERY other Taoiseach in history.

By your logic, nobody has ever been elected as Taoiseach

namloc1980

PCPhoto wrote: »

Cowan as Taoiseach was not appointed by anyone that I voted for ....he was "choosen" by fellow Fianna Fail member.....and he only got the job because B-B-B-Bertie could see what was coming ...and jumped ship.

if you listen carefully you will ALWAYS hear someone complaining about the voting system prior to every election - mainly due to "re-zoning" of areas to include known areas of popular opinion of the part in power at the time....a lot of the complaining is pub-talk.

Just to Make sure you get my point ... Cowan was NOT voted Taoiseach by the public - he was given the job by his fellow Fianna Failures.

Wrong...he was elected by Dail Eireann in accordance with our Constitution.