Ian Jr does it

You've got to feel sorry for Ian Paisley Junior, don't you? No, really. I mean, if you somehow got a teenage urge to become a politician, who's the last dad you'd need? Whether you like Dr Ian or loathe him - and most Ulster folk do one or the other - he's got megaphone-sized shoes to fill, and you'll have to put up with being referred to as Mini-Me and stuff. Nightmare. You'd forever be in the old man's shadow. Eventually you'd either end up being seen as an ungrateful upstart for eclipsing him, or have loads of red-white-and-blue-rinsed biddies tutting over the Nambarrie, saying, "shor he's nathin' like the mon 'is dad was, shor 'e asn't". I think I'd cut my losses and be a traffic warden.

But no! Ian Jr has a cunning political popularity-pumping tool in his armory. A nubile personal advisor? No. A hip life-coach? Nope, none of those. He reads the "Big Ulsterman" blog. No doubt about it. Not one day after I advise Nigel Dodds to get in there and talk face-to-face with the victims of crime, Ian Jr informs the media (relunctantly) that he's met some of Ahoghill's persecuted Catholic residents in person. Did they bite? No. In fact, Ian Jr is alive and well and insisting he actually met them some time back but didn't like to say. Probably no reason to doubt he's telling the truth - after all, if he weren't, it wouldn't be long before the people called the BBC to destroy his career.

So good on you, Ian Jr. Now, the next Big Thing is:
Blogroll me to your dad ...