Do gooding blandness, tempered by moderation. Hence this morning's charade in Birmingham and similar pretences at the launch of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat manifestos during the past week. At each event the party leader has trawled the thesaurus to describe their document in the boldest of terms.
None really intend anything of the sort.
Beneath the radical language from all three parties hide mainstream policies aimed at mainstream voters. The Conservatives want petrol to be a bit cheaper, but not as cheap as in America. The Lib Dems would like to increase nurses pay, but not by much. Nothing in any of the documents is likely to alarm the middle classes, big business or the stockmarket. But to admit this would be a cause for political shame.