I am ashamed of myself, if that helps

I accept that you’re undecided and it’s good that you’ve not just entirely jumped on one particular bandwagon uncritically, but you *are* almost entirely negative about Clegg and positive – but worried about the cost to the party – about Huhne.

The choice to me is very simple. Nick has the more bold policy agenda – one that puts law and order and education at the front (thus giving the impression that he’s vaguely aware of the concerns that ‘real people’ have) and demonstrates his very liberal commitment to getting to the root causes of problems. He’s also someone that can open doors for us, not just with the media but with the public at large.

Huhne’s strength is that he’s very closely identified with the party’s current policy agenda and so has some support amongst the activists, especially the environmentalists. He’s the business as usual candidate, but hopefully better at selling us than Ming was.

To me it’s a total no-brainer. Clegg’s the party’s best chance of avoiding a fatal squeeze at the next general election. That 41% poll for the Tories was a reaction to the previous polls that showed that Labour would win a November election – and so our supporters abandoned us in a heartbeat to prevent that happening.

I should know – I was one of them. It’s only since Ming stood down that I rejoined the party and have become an enthusiastic Lib Dem supporter once again. For me Clegg is absolutely everything I could possibly hope for in a Lib Dem leader and more than enough to stop me doing the unthinkable. He’s blown away the fatalism I had that the Lib Dems would never really get their acts sorted out enough to become a serious electoral force.

Still, keep us thinking and keep us rational but, you know, it wouldn’t hurt to turn that critical eye of yours to Huhne if you’re really interested in keeping things balanced. Pointing out that the media will destroy us for electing Huhne isn’t the same as wondering where his detailed policy platform is, or asking him to demonstrate the leadership and communication skills he says he has.

And, you know, if you do come down on the side of Huhne then I’d be interested to know why

Fine. I’ll make allowances. But if the reality is discordant with the pitch, is it really so outrageous to point this out?

Doesn’t mean I’m voting for Nick, but this has not influenced my decision either way.