DECLINE AND FALL

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How did the Today programme deal with last night's debate?
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Well, Norman Smith, chatting to Evan Davis, agreed with the general view that Nick Clegg won. Being Norman Smith though, he also tried to boost Gordon Brown (who all but one poll - duly mentioned by Evan - shows to have clearly lost the debate) and diminish David Cameron. Of Brown's 'controlled aggression' (as he described it), Norm said "I think that by and large worked for him." So a measured success for Brown. Cameron, however. was at a 'disadvantage' on three separate counts, which (we were told) all "conspired to work against him last night." (Sometimes I wonder if Norman Smith is just Charlie Whelan in disguise!)
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Of course while the election is going on (and on) the BBC's very other biases bubble along as usual. The left-leaning think-tanks are still taking centre-stage, with an interview based on a report on terrorism by Jamie Bartlett of Demos. The BBC rule seems to be: If it's not the IPPR it's Demos.
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At 7.10 James Naughtie discussed the technological aspects of the response to the debate with Steve Hewlett, the Guardian writer who fronts the BBC's Media Show. The polls said Naughtie "came up with several conclusions but one standing out - that Nick Clegg...had had a good night". That Brown had had a bad night was a conclusion that didn't stand out for Naughtie. Among other things they discussed "the worm" - the heart-monitor-like impression-gatherer. Ben Page of MORI last night (on the BBC' 1o o'clock News and Newsnight) confirmed that Gordon Brown came out worst on this measure too, winning much a more "muted" level of approval throughout. Messers Naughtie and Hewitt ignored this and instead chose to emphasize that Gordon Brown "by and large outpaced the others both of the others" on the economy.
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Next up we were in Manchester with Evan Davis and Paddy Ashdown. Paddy was given the gentlest of rides (I.C. of 0), being asked for instance to "adjudicate" between Brown and Cameron's performances, and agreeing with Evan that Nick Clegg "hurt" Mr Cameron more. "I think that's a very interesting point Evan, " he said. "I think that's dead right". I, however, remember Mr Clegg's exasperated snort at Brown's umteenth attempt to butter him up, which blew sand in the face of Brown's bleedingly obvious strategy.
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I refer you to Not a sheep for the next segment, where a panel of ordinary voters were gathered:
http://notasheepmaybeagoat.blogspot.com/2010/04/unbiased-vox-pop.html
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What followed was frankly infuriating: A piece on a play called Posh about the Bullingdon Club, which gave BBC's arts editor Will Gompertz the chance to talk about "an unflattering portrayal" of "young priveleged men" and remind us that "the Bullingdon Club featured Cameron and Osborne and Johnson". It mirrors Evelyn Waugh's Decline and Fall, he said. "This is the decline and fall of this generation of aristocrats and social elite who feel they are owed everything they have and a living". "It's about the upper classes deriding the poorer people". This was merely a description of the play of course. Nothing more. Perish the thought. Harry Mount, a writer and former Bullingdon member, was then interviewed - so as to prolong the theme - and encouraged to say that it was a silly thing to do to join the club. Mr Mount is David Cameron's cousin.
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For another take on this, here's Stuart at Biased BBC:

I listened to the Today program this morning on Radio 4. We had Pope Clegg being talked up, a discussion about the Bullington Club - a play - a tinge of tory bashing, and finally we had 4 or 5 people from the (hardly politically well balanced) streets of Manchester talking to Evan Davis on what they felt about the TV debate last night. (I lived in Manchester for many years and its great, but it wasn't politically balanced).

I hope the BBC are going to examine the communist connections in the Labour party when the candidates were 19 (or even better, produce a play), they do a show somewhere in Buckinghamshire where they invite people off the streets of a beautiful English village somewhere to comment on politics, and finally, stop broadcasting their biased views of the performances last night - Mr Robinson you are the weakest link.
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UPDATE (17/4 11.15am) Here's more from Stuart:
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I heard the Today program again this morning. Evan Davis has moved from Manchester where he interviewed people regarding polical opinion, to another more politically balanced location, Liverpool where he interviewed people in Toxteth regarding their voting tendances.
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Where next for Evan? Glasgow?