In his first contribution for the spectator John Cleese describes a certain catagory of people as articulate incompetents:
"This is a person who speaks clearly and cogently and persuasively about something, without actually understanding anything about the reality that their words are intending to describe. Such a person is dangerous to an organisation because they can sound very persuasive, despite the fact that they have absolutely no clue what they are talking about."
There must be some candidates here in Australia for the Cleese Articulate Incompetent Award.
My personal nomination would be Penny Wong but I am sure that there must be others. Perhaps we could institute an OLO annual award for that person in public life who may be described as being the most Articulate Incompetent. I am sure that there would be a substantial list of nominees.

(1) Tin-Tin (aka K.Rudd)
(2) Every other politician in the country.
(3) 57.3269% of the Australian public.(which ones in particular depends on your own point of view)

Maximillian the criterion is articulate and incompetent - Rudd pushes that boundary - can we really describe him as articulate? Indeed few politicians are articulate. Whitlam would have met the bill. Keating was/is articulate but could hardly be described as incompetent. Howard was neither articulate nor competent. If we are going to have a hit list we will have to set ideology aside and only select those public figures that fit both criteria. (Molly Meldrum is a public figure who is inarticulate and competent - we could nominate those public figures who struggle to string a coherent sentence together but nonetheless are competent. Maybe the Cleese award and the Molly award.

The final judge of a man is the fruit of his life. Many say do as I say. Jesus said follow me do what I do. Most here disbelieve in the existance of Jesus but want others to believe what they say. When you follow the blind you also are lost.

Sure, maximilion. It's great to just bag every politician. Having had some contact with the political sphere, I've come to realise you can't just write them all off.

Talk is cheap, especially on the internet. If you think they're so incompetent, try running yourself.

That being said, there are plenty of incompetent ones out there, Wilson Tuckey springs to mind, as does the social ability of Christopher Pyne (to defend his liberal party credentials he said that as an 8 year old he wore a liberal party badge to school. Doesn't this admit he was simply a zealot moulded for the party? No 8 year old could possibly have made a carefully considered decision).

However, I digress. Neither of those could possibly be called articulate.

My nomination is our Governor General Quentin Bryce. I've met the woman and was underwhelmed.
Adept at 'tea and scones' talk and being polite, and avoiding questions that might reveal her lack of knowledge.

Beneath the exterior however, I'm somewhat concerned that there's just more exterior.

The Cleese Articulate Incompetent Award?

My vote goes to:

1) Julie Bishop - too many mistakes.
2) Joel Fitzgibbon - obviously out of his depth - but not so sure
about his being articulate.
3) Tony Abbott - an embarrassment all round.
4) Cardinal George Pell - for following the ethos of exclusion,
and incompetent handling of sexual abuse cases by the clergy.
5) Andrew Bolt - for not getting it - on so many levels.
6) Malcolm Turnbull - for joining the wrong party.

Einfeld? or should getting caught count as a disqualification?

Laugh? I nearly did!
If you're not articulate, you can't be in politics!
Know what you're talking about? Yeah, right, say no more, lol.
Stuff them all, I've just been diagnosed with aggressive cancer, so I don't give a "bodily waste", I'll say my piece and "Devil take the hindmost".
Too many things to be dealing with, kids and all, ya know?
April Fools Day? God just played the ultimate joke on me, lol, Laugh your heads off, I am!

Dear Max,

I was diagnosed with colon cancer a few years ago.
It was devastating news, so I know how you feel.
But, I'm still here.

The important thing is - stay positive.

All The Best.

Max
I am sure if you put your mind to it you can be far more aggressive than any bloody cancer - show it whose boss!

I nominate BOAZ, Where has he disappeared to lately ?

Sorry about that, sane again now.
I only went to the quack for a sprain, and he spotted the problem, aggressive melanoma's. I'll be right, he got them early, I'm having a couple cut out tomorrow, then a couple on my shnozz as soon as they can fit me into Hospital, it's gunna need a bit of a re-build afterwards.
It was just a shock, and scary, but I'm good now.
Back to the thread.
What I was trying to say was that inarticulate pollies don't last long. And they rarely have more than a passing knowledge in their areas of supposed interest. Being a pollie is a time consuming career, just to stay in the game.
I won't rant about the good cop/ bad cop game that is Australian politics nowadays, suffice to say that I'm extremely cynical, and even though a lot of newbie pollies start with good intentions, they're quickly corrupted, or eroded perhaps, by the system they've become a part of.
Hence they qualify for the Award, in my humble, cynical, opinion.

I have sat through many a talk by senior public servants in which many a word was spoken but nothing actually said.

This is not true of all public servants but if you want to seek someone worthy of this award I would look to the Commonwealth Government first.

Personally I nominate former Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock. Have you ever heard one of his speeches or responses to the media?

He was truly an articulate and intelligent man that had mastered the art of pollie-speak.

Interesting that this should come up, now, when the english speaking world is being lead by three dummies.

With this lot we have an idiot, an orator, & a linguist. All three are capable of producing the words, but ont one of them are capable of understanding what they mean.

It's a pity that these once great nations have fallen so low