Parliamentary debates in full swing...

I'm watching on PBS the British Parliament debating on the News of the World phone hacking debacle.  It never used to impress me much.  Having lived in the US for the past three years, I'm glued to the TV and to the display of intelligence and speed of reaction.  By comparison, the US presidents' press conferences (and I'm not even thinking of Bush!!!) seem like self-righteous kindergarten games.  Not even Obama would survive half an hour in the House of Commons for Prime Minister's Questions.  He should be lucky if he escapes without a heart attack, since his very measuuuuuuuuuuuured and caaaaaaaaaaaadenced speech would allow the rest of the MPs to crack an average 3 jokes/second and drive the Speaker of the House insane!  Let's face it, John Bercow does not suffer fools gladly.  But I forget, this is the country of the simulacrum and intelligence is no different.