Alastair has long revelled in his macho, hard-man, Malcolm Tucker image. He has gone through four Iraq inquiries and he gave no ground at the latest Chilcot Inquiry. He has also dealt with the “beyond doubt” question many times.  Why did Marr’s mild interrogation unsettle him?  Was it a cynical, calculated act or is Al cracking up again?

Bad Al is also said to have groomed Gordon Brown for his Piers Morgan interview, where he too tears up and gets emotional. Are they going for the sympathy vote?  Three months before the election Brown is blubbing for the cameras, having always claimed he was a private man and criticising Cameron (and by implication Blair) for doing the touchy-feely stuff.  Are they trying to fake up some kind of emotional connection with voters to compensate at the last minute for Gordon’s lack of EQ?

Guido is on Nicky Campbell’s breakfast show tomorrow talking about this topic.  What do co-conspirators think?

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UPDATE : Bad Al has just blogged that his “exasperation button” was pressed.