Tory muddle
Labour's return to its old statist ways is appalling, but the public seem to love it, says Simon Heffer. They don't trust the private sector any more and feel only the state can ensure a roof is kept over their heads and food in their bellies. Why do so many people have this ridiculous view? Because the Conservative Party struggles to tell them anything different. How can Mr Osborne or Mr Cameron nail Mr Brown, when they fervently supported the very spending and borrowing binge that created so much inflation, removed so much value and caused so much unserviceable debt? This is a mess, a self-inflicted mess, and there is no prospect of the bold and visionary act of leadership that would pluck the Conservative Party out of it. Simon Heffer Daily Telegraph
Full article: David Cameron must join the real world and fight Labour's big lies 
The Mole: Tories on their own
An immoral tax cut
At a time when we are in deep trouble because of stupid levels of personal and public debt, the Government plans to increase debt further and to encourage people who can least afford it to spend more, says Alice Miles. It's a reckless and immoral approach and the failure of the Conservative Party to make political capital out of it has been astonishing. I cannot be the only person bridling at the thought of funding a Christmas bonanza for those already receiving large amounts of tax credits. The Government appears to be planning massive redistribution from you and me to them and FlatscreenTelliesRUs. Alice Miles The Times
Full article: Santa Brown's great Christmas giveaway
The Mole: tax cut battle
A sign of inadequacy
The Government proposes to make it illegal to "pay for sex with a person controlled for gain", says Deborah Orr. Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, believes that the mere threat of a criminal record will make men consider the possibility that a woman is taking part in a transaction because her choices are limited, or absent. If the legislation prompts even a small reduction in the number of men buying sex, says Smith, then it will be worthwhile. At least it is a fresh approach. Maybe it is time to emphasise to some of those who use prostitutes that they are not parading their manliness, but instead advertising their own inadequacy. Deborah Orr The Independent
Full article: For most women, prostitution is not a life choice
The silver lining
It sounds harsh to say it and I don't mean it to be so, but recessions do serve a purpose. They force efficiency. They force our whole society to figure out simpler and more effective ways of doing things. Increasing efficiency is the only way our whole society – not just a few talented or cunning individuals – gets richer. It won't be a bundle of fun and people who are caught in the headwinds need to be supported by society as a whole. But the reward from the harsh period we are now entering is that we will emerge as a more efficient society, and I would hope a more equitable one too. Hamish McRae The Independent
Full article: Recessions serve a useful purpose
Worse than Iraq
It is worrying that both Brown and Obama seem to think Afghanistan can be won, says Simon Jenkins. The conflict is far more intractable than Iraq, since the staple crop is not oil but opium and since the border with Pakistan is hopelessly unstable. The error of Afghanistan is far more serious than the error of Iraq. If the resulting insurgency is now exported to Pakistan, both errors will seem peccadillos. Pakistan is the sixth largest state in the world, and nuclear-armed. The awful prospect is that Obama and Brown will blunder on to a war of attrition whose poison will spread across a subcontinent. Simon Jenkins The Guardian
Full article: The errors of Iraq are being repeated - and magnified
Disney the genius
Walt Disney created modern mass entertainment, writes Daniel Finkelstein. And that is what his opponents don't like. They think it is plastic, naive, a sin against nature, an insult to creativity. Walt saw it differently. He was bringing high quality entertainment to people who had little in their lives, good quality merchandise in place of tat, brilliantly made films in place of amateur ones, artistic imagination to those who almost never encountered it. He provided capitalism with its best defence - that it can nourish creativity and inspiration. Walt Disney was a genius. Daniel Finkelstein The Times
Full article: Defend Disney from his Mickey Mouse critics
