I've just watched this week's edition of Dispatches.The picture it paints of Gordon Brown was not a flattering.After a short honeymoon last summer ,it all went wrong when he failed to call an election. Then Northern Rock collapsed and his popularity began to tumble.

The media turned on him. Once he was the Iron Chancellor, now he has become Mr Bean!

The idea hit me, who does he remind of?The answer is Jimmy Carter.Most people under thirty may not remember him, but Jimmy Carter was US President in the 1970s.He was the obscure former Governor of Georgia who defeated Gerald Ford in 1976.He came to power with a lot of goodwill from the public. He said he would not lie to people(just like Brown).In fact,he presented himself as totally diffrent from all the Washington politicians.

Soon,it all went wrong.Jimmy Carter was a control freak(just like Brown), who tried to micro manage everything.An intelligent man,he spent too much time sweating the small stuff. So much so, that he was unable to make a decision(just like Brown). His indecisiveness lead others to doubt his leadership and he never recovered.In 1978,Carter wanted to deploy the Neutron Bomb in Europe.He told the Germans that it would based on their soil, and then he changed his mind!

Carter failed to deal effectively with the Iranian Hostage Crisis 1979-1980.That sealed his fate.He was seen as weak by his own party.By 1980, Edward Kennedy opposed him for the Democratic Party. He won the nomination but was seriously beaten by Ronald Reagan in the Presidential elections.

Gordon Brown allowed all that speculation about the elecion to run and run. He only changed his mind when the Tories looked like giving him a good kicking.He dithered about Northern Rock for ages before finally taking the bank into social ownership.

Someone in the Labour Party should stand against Brown as he has proved after just one year that he is not up to the job.

Like Jimmy Carter he will be remembered as a failure.