John Swinney just huffed and puffed

At lunchtime I watched the BBC's Andrew Neil interview MSP John Swinney about the Scottish referendum.

John Swinney was unable to answer any of the questions put to him.

It was a pathetic performance.

So far the SNP ministers have just had deferential local media to deal with.  To have someone of the stature of Andrew Neil actually in the Edinburgh parliament building asking them hard questions is an entirely new development.  John Swinney just huffed and puffed.

The referendum campaign is going to last until "autumn" 2014.  It will be a bruising experience for the SNP, and one they may not survive in the long run (unless they get their policies seriously sorted out).  One thousand days of squirming and trying to change the subject is going to make them look ridiculous.

Alex Salmond's contemptuous rejection of David Cameron's offer of a referendum within eighteen months may prove to have been a miscalculation.