Ask voters why they don't like politicians and, after the usual
jokes about expenses claims for duck islands and moat-clearing,
someone will usually complain that they are slippery, evasive
and never tell you what they're really thinking. A common
refrain from the public (and the press) is that things would be
better if only politicians were to speak their minds. The events
of yesterday, and the final leaders' debate, scheduled for
tonight, show why no practising politician takes such talk
seriously.  Yesterday, on walkabout in Rochdale, a town near
Manchester, Gordon Brown was talking to a member of the public.
She harangued him over tax, pensions, schools and immigration.
Returning to his car, Mr Brown forgot that he still had a Sky
News microphone attached to his lapel. That microphone picked up
his subsequent comments: he described the encounter as a
"disaster" and said the woman was "bigoted". It was exactly what
both public and pundits had said they wanted: here was a
politician, unguarded, speaking his