cometh the hour

So Britain has its own Obama figure: Nick Clegg since Thursday evening, in that he represents a will to throw out the established system and usher in something shiny and new (and difficult to pin down exactly).

Now, this could go two ways: either this is like one of those great shots a tennis player hits when they are match point down with nothing to lose; two minutes later they are shaking hands and moving into the obscurity of losers. If this is the case then if you are reading this post some time into the future you may not even know who Nick Clegg is.

The alternative is that this is a pivotal moment, much beloved of the media, particularly in the middle of a dour battle between well prepared opponents. There can be no doubt that most of us voters were hardly fired up by Grumpy Brown and Sir Cam-alot slogging it out over a couple of dozen swing seats. I've voted for quarter of a century without making any difference to any result and it will be no different this time. This is the result of an outdated archaic system which renders the vast majority of votes as irrelevant. Any chance that this might be about to be changed can only be good news.

I have no real idea of the policies of the Lib Dems nor do I need to know really - they won't win even if more people vote for them than either of the other parties (proof of how biased the system is) but at least we can vent our frustration at the cosy gentlemen's club of two party politics that defined most of the last Century.

Maybe I just like supporting the underdog, but for the first time I'm a teeny bit excited by this election. It remains to be seen whether this is a bang or a whimper.