Courtesy of Lindsey Dawson.
Tell me, where’s the noise? Is there an election going on? Where (though I can’t believe I’m writing this) are the letterbox leaflets? Apart from a handful of shout-over TV debates, and a few discussion shows buried outside the mainstream TV channels, or at odd hours of the day, there’s not much public electioneering going on. I’m finding this election oddly flat and peculiar. We can only put it down to the infamous Electoral Finance Act, which is doing a great job of suppressing the clamour we’d normally be hearing.
I’ve had one (yes, only one) election pamphlet in my letterbox, though I guess more will turn up as voting day comes closer. I’m seeing only a dribble of election ads on TV. And the production values are pretty bad in the few ads I’ve caught. There’s a Helen Clark speech to camera where she’s squinting into light so unkind that her eyes are barely visible. What was the director thinking? It’s all looking very amateur for the little country that’s supposed to be full of smart creative talent.
More importantly, where’s the humour? Where are the comedy skits – so desperately needed in this time when so much news is so extraordinary that all you can do is laugh, because otherwise you’d weep.
I note today that Labour is promising to keep “real people in real jobs”. What is a real person?
McPhail and Gadsby, where are you now that we need you? 
Trawling for a few laughs, I’m chewing up far too much broadband time watching Saturday Night Live skits lampooning the American elections. And I’m sitting up late to watch Jon Stewart (pictured above) on Comedy Central, as he deftly skewers all and sundry. It’s on at 10.30pm weeknights on C4, or Channel 12 if you have Sky, and you can also find highlights at www.comedycentral.com
The American election, being bigger and way more cash-fuelled, is much more exciting than ours, even if it has gone on for EVER. It was of course, galvanised by the abrupt arrival of Mrs Palin. And my, how some people can’t abide her. Check out, for instance, the salon.com column by consummately good writer, Anne Lamott.
And then there’s a stern appraisal by Deepak Chopra .
Alternatively, if you just want a giggle, go the site mentioned in Lamott’s piece and try out the Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator. Palin is famous for choosing oddball names for her kids – such as Track and Trig. This site offers a way to find out what you might have been called if Palin was your mum. You just type your current name in and wait to see what comes up. (Mine turned out to be Schooner.)