Of late, Clegg has looked and sounded good, made some pertinent interventions in the Commons, and been rewarded with a sharp lift in Lib Dem poll ratings. Then he lived up to his Calamity Clegg reputation by suggesting that the recession was a chance for newly unemployed men to become stay-at-home fathers. Oh dear. I wonder how that patronising drivel went down this week in Cowley, where 850 car workers, mainly men, were given an hour's notice. Their best job prospects are now in fast-food outlets. Clegg, of course, is about to go on paternity leave.