Conviction politicians

I invited a good friend for lunch this week. Sandra isn't the easiest person to cook for because she's a vegan, but we're happy to make the effort. This time she told us that avoiding animal products now meant she wouldn't even eat honey. I didn't quite get it. Did it do bees any harm to produce honey? Didn't they do it naturally and maybe even enjoy it? Weren't we doing them a favor by liking honey and trying to protect the species as a result? Sandra didn't agree. There could be no compromises, not even for bees.

On one level I was impressed by her certainty, but on another I was uneasy. Single-mindedness can lead some people - not Sandra of course - to go to violent extremes in the name of conviction. Another good friend recently quit his job as a comment writer for a major national newspaper. In his farewell column he warned against too much certainty from commentators. The profession demanded, he said, strong and absolute opinions. Uncertainly comes over as weakness. He admitted having expressed ideas in categorical terms about which he wasn't really sure. In a classic sound-bite he said it is sometimes feeble to sound bold and bold to sound feeble. Maybe he was practicing for his new career. This friend is now a speech writer for our prime minister, David Cameron.

But I wonder how his defense of uncertainty will go down in Downing Street? Politicians like having the answers and hate to appear weak. A conviction politician is generally thought to be a good one. "Vote for me because I'm not really sure" isn't much of an election slogan. But I think he's right. There's too much fake certainty going about and few things in life are straightforwardly right or wrong.

So, sorry Sandra, I'm going to continue eating honey. And if the guys at CBS ever invite me back again after this, I may not always be so sure of myself in future. This is Lance Price for CBS News in London.