[Red Moon]

Why Blind Patriotism Doesn't Get My Vote

IT'S the real West Lothian question. When will Leon Jackson be back folding jeans at the Whitburn branch of Gap?

Just kidding.

The whole of Scotland is talking about Leon. Well, apart from in Walter Smith's house, where the L-word's banned.

But that doesn't mean the whole of Scotland should be voting for Leon.

The Daily Record sent him a Good Luck Leon page on Monday and I hope he gets all the luck he deserves.

He seems like a nice guy who loves his mum, sings well, is nice to cats and so on. But Rhydian deserves to win.

Some Scots will vote Leon, some of Scotland will vote Rhydian and the kids too young to understand the bit about asking the bill-payer's permission will vote for Same Difference.

Some, for example anyone who's called Glitterball between midnight and 4am, might not even want to add to ITV's phone vote profits. Fancy that.

Same Difference are duetting with Jason Donovan tonight. Well, Jason's as entitled as anyone else to enter the competition.

Rhydian is a much better singer than Leon, just as Strictly Come Dancing's Alesha Dixon is a much better dancer than Kenny Logan.

But because we're Scottish, we're told we should vote for Kenny and Rhydian. It's the same fruit-loop logic that saw David Sneddon beat Lemar on Fame Academy.

Or saw some English newspapers nominate LA Galaxy's David Beckham for BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

It makes us look really immature as a nation when we demand everyone votes for a contestant just because they come from our own country. Should Federico have won Big Brother? Or Rhona Cameron I'm A Celeb? Did The MacDonald Brothers deserve to beat Leona last year?

Course not.

At the beginning of X Factor, one of the mums of reject boy band Futureproof told us he was half-Scottish. Ten per cent of the poor man's Bad Boys Inc is Scottish? Wow.

Let me get texting till my thumb falls off. Or maybe not. The more a Scottish, Welsh, Irish or Scouse contestant tells "their" public to get behind them and vote, the more I root for the rest. Besides, no nation has so far stepped forward to take responsibility for Chico.

Reality TV voting mustn't get as regionobsessed as Eurovision.

In sports awards, things are slightly different because the English national teams monopolise most UK-wide shows.

That's why so many of us were willing James McFadden - until he wasn't shortlisted by the 20-plus English-based papers who nominate - and then Joe Calzaghe to do well in BBC's Sports Personality award. And if England took the same attitude about voting for anybody from their own country whatever their talent (or lack of it), we're looking at David Cameron as PM.

But in reality TV, it's time to grow up as a nation. In X Factor, Strictly Come Dancing and I'm A Celeb, may the best man or woman win. Or, if it's a dull series, the most psychologically unhinged.

'The whole of Scotland is talking about Leon, apart from in Walter Smith's house, where the L-word is banned. But that doesn't mean the whole of Scotland should vote for Leon'

Source: Daily Record

[Jackie]

So that means everyone in scotland should vote for leon even it they dont like him.