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So Mr Brown, Mr Cameron, tell us - how do you deal with the big pants dilemma?

Hang on, you know you've got a big problem to solve here in the shape of a Mr Clegg but you've never heard it described in those terms?

Before I explain, a thought that will do nothing to cheer the three of you up. As posted yesterday and is suddenly - but glaringly - obvious to anyone watching this campaign, time is fast running out for you to combat the surge in Lib Dem popularity. Yes, election day is a fortnight and a bit away but as James Macintyre points out on the New Statesman blog, time's running out rather faster than that.

If some three million people vote by post and if, as has become the norm, around half return their voting forms early, then they could be in the post very soon. How many of those will reflect the current can't-get-enough-of-Clegg mood?

But back to those big pants. Bridget Jones fans will know what I'm getting at but to all others, stick with me here.

The dilemma, as spelled out in her diary, is this: to get a date with the man of your dreams, your chances are much enhanced if you wear big pants - big, ugly, unforgiving pants. However once you've got where you wanted to be - in his arms - then you wish you hadn't gone down the big, ugly, unforgiving route at all. By then though, it's too late and in your heart you know that if you hadn't gone the big pants route, you wouldn't be where you wanted to be at all.

See now? Big pants can be a necessary evil but make life a whole lot more difficult further down the line.

So Mr Cameron, Mr Brown - do you go down the big, ugly, unforgiving route now? Do you go on the attack against Mr Clegg, try to tear his every utterance and his policy statements apart in the hope that that gets you to where you want to be - winning more seats than the other one? And then, of course, it looks like your date will be Mr Clegg, whose party might not be so keen to talk to the leader who went down route of ugly, grim necessity?

Meanwhile Mr Jones is taking the fight to Ofcom. Having seen last night's YouGov/ITV Wales poll result Plaid Cymru have written to the broadcasting regulator to complain that their exclusion from last Thursday's Prime Ministerial debate on ITV was in breach of the Broadcasting Code. I quote:

"Whilst until now, we relied upon anecdotal evidence to confirm the view that this debate would influence the outcome of the election, we now have hard facts in the form of an opinion poll which shows a spectacular rise for the Liberal Democrats".

Plaid and the SNP are expected to meet with the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Trust in the next week to argue their case for involvement in the ´óÏó´«Ã½ debate scheduled for April 29.

Meanwhile: Mr Brown, Mr Hain, Mr Cameron, Mrs Gillan - your move.

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