Derek Draper! Pass the sick bag

Anthony Barnett (London, OK): The Observer has a long and important interview with the Prime Minister that I'll write about tomorrow after I've read the full transcript. He may be wrong but he takes himself seriously, which continues to be a great relief. Standing in for Andrew Rawnsley the paper runs Derek Draper supposedly a 'reformed' character from his days as Mandelson's sidekick in the run up to 1997. Now, like a dog returning to its vomit, he defaults back to the the worst of the re-branding of Labour. He writes to Brown in the first person that he must let everyone know that he likes watching the X factor on TV (which he discussed "passionately" at Chequers) and should parade his children before the papers. He quotes Brown saying that the Labour party "must have soul" and says to him, "It is time..for you to bare yours". This, he argues, like a low grade Gould, "isn't about 'creating' an image. It is about revealing and communicating a reality". Sorry to write about this, but given that the Observer supports Brown and is the paper of choice for his interview on the year ahead, the thought occurs that this is a plant, that team Brown are softening us up for the Draperisation of the prime minister. If so, how far should he go?