TV3's piece on John Key's meeting with conservative uber-donor Michael Ashcroft tonight was revealing. Not because it told us that Key was meeting with a man who has tried to buy power in the UK while refusing to pay taxes there, and not because it raised the prospect of National getting illegal foreign backing (and here we need to remember that Ashcroft specialises in using corporate fronts to circumvent UK electoral law, so we can't be sure he's not trying the same thing here), but because of what it showed us about John Key. When questioned whether anyone from National had met Ashcroft, Key's first reaction was to obfuscate and lie by omission in an attempt to give the impression that he knew nothing about it and that others in his party were involved. It was only when it became clear that TV3 knew the truth that he came clean and admitted to the meeting - and even then he tried to disclaim responsibility, saying "I just follow what was in my diary" (as if anything would ever be put there without his say-so and agreement).
I know the term is grossly overused, but this is a perfect example of Key's slipperiness - he's just not honest. He thinks he can bullshit us. That's bad enough in used-car salesmen and management consultants, but we expect better from politicians.
