Dáil Sketch: A major skill in the political game is the ability to put someone on the defensive, especially when they are right.
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell is a master of the art and practised it on Fine Gael's Richard Bruton, who earlier this week spectacularly hit one of the Minister's sensitive spots - Garda numbers.
Never a man to let an issue go, the Minister returned to the scene of his crime - his parliamentary reply on the strength of the Garda in Dublin - in a letter to all TDs.
After roaring at the mild-mannered Fine Gael deputy leader on Monday by saying his figures were "rubbish" and comparing him to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels, he apologised profusely, well, arrogantly - but still said sorry on Tuesday. To confirm it he then crossed the chamber to shake his hand. In case anyone missed this, he again shook his hand on the plinth for all the photographers and cameras.
But then late on Wednesday he sent a letter to every TD reigniting the issue and saying Fine Gael's man, by "solely relying on the response to a narrow technical question", had "produced an extremely misleading impression".
Yesterday Richard Bruton, in a rather defensive response, said the Taoiseach had also misrepresented him, and so had the Minister in his letter.
In effect they accused him of doing something that his big brother, former taoiseach John Bruton, famously once said the opposition should always do - to get the right answer, they should ask the right question.
Mr Bruton almost apologised for asking the right question that gave him the right Opposition answer that in the year ended December, there were only two extra gardaí in Dublin.
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said the only meaning they could draw from the Minister's letter was that TDs "should not rely on answers to PQs from his department anymore".
But the "best bit" in the letter was that the Minister's door was always open to brief deputies on how to interpret any statistical information. Was the "Minister for Information" the only one offering the service or would all the other departments offer it as well?
Ministers tried but failed to suppress their smiles, and the Minister himself grinned broadly. Deputy Rabbitte suggested it was a novel breakthrough in governance and "will certainly reduce the Opposition parties' financial obligations".
When he suggested that other Ministers could "subcontract" the service so that TDs could "go directly to Stephen's Green, push a button and get the information from the Minister", even the Tánaiste smiled.
Deputy Bruton asked innocently "is the Defamation Bill making satisfactory progress?"
Quick as a flash his Goebbels tormentor quipped, "common abuse is not defamatory".
