Brown, the school swot

The morbid interest in the short-comings of Gordon Brown continues. Andrew Gimson in the Telegraph writes:

No one was unkind enough to remind Mr Brown of the picture of him on his latest trip to Iraq appearing to grin while manning a gun on a helicopter, but that too epitomises the poor man's ability to get things wrong on his public appearances.

When Mr Brown is forced to mingle with his fellow men, he stumbles like a swot who has spent too many hours at his books, and too few learning how to get on with other people over a game or a drink. It is hard to think of a single occasion since becoming Prime Minister when he has saved the day by telling a joke.