A poll taken before the 2004 American election asked voters which of the Presidential candidates they would rather have a beer with. Ignoring the fact that George W. Bush shouldn't actually have a beer, 57 per cent of undecided voters polled said they would rather have a drink with the teetotal guy than with John Kerry. Apart from what that says about Kerry, the interesting thing about the poll was that people thought the trait in question might be useful in deciding on a president.

Personally, I put amiability during beer-supping some way down the list of what I'm after in a candidate. I can think of some tremendous leaders who would fail to be a riot in the pub. Experience, knowledge, empathy, coping in a crisis - all would beat the bottle issue. But not much further up the list would be the ability to make pretty speeches.