I was about to post on the political stupidity of Gordon Brown's budget; Daniel Finkelstein has beaten me to it. Daniel observes three mistakes, but for me by far the biggest is 'The Message Mistake':

Gordon Brown wants to be seen as upright, substantial, rigorous and honest, a contrast to Cameron's spin. The public do not believe politicians and are, rightly, suspicious of Budget announcements.

So what do you do? You present your Budget with painful honesty, showing clearly where the money comes from and where it goes to. Under no circumstances do you leave yourself open to the charge of secretive stealthiness. But Brown seemed more interested in achieving "Gord Bless Him" headlines than in winning political support. This is a political error made by people who mistake Westminster opinion for everyone else's.

Almost every non-political person I've spoken to since Wednesday has said the same thing: that Brown bloke wants us to think he's different, but the Busget shows he's the same as the rest of them. Does he think we're all idiots and will fall for any old con-trick?

I've written repeatedly that Brown is Labour's biggest vote loser, and almost unelectable. The Budget reinforces my view. I've never bought into the idea that he is some kind of political strategic genius. he isn't. He's a rather dull machine politician. Labour's only got one of political genius, and the party's - and Brown's - reaction to having him was to frustrate him at every turn and then boot him out. And they call the Conservatives the stupid party!