Fancy a flight to Fulton soon, Mr Prime Minister?

It sounds like I don't have to resort to photoshopping Thomas Dewey's moustache on a picture of David Cameron or creating a mock Sun headline for 7 May to confirm Labour's desire to make this election akin to Truman's underdog victory.

In his closing statement during Thursday's debate (hosted by Sky News in Bristol), Gordon Brown opened with Truman's famous four-word maxim, “The Buck Stops Here.” Earlier, in an effort to present an assertive image (which countered his conciliatory approach in the first debate), Brown channelled Harry by saying in his opening statement: “If this election is about style and PR points, count me out. If it's about the big decisions, if it's about judgement . . . I'm your man.”

Despite the “substance” where Brown had hoped to score points—arguments presented on Britain's foreign affairs and three-way arguments about the EU, Trident nuclear submarines, and immigration—several opinion polls have relegated the current ruling party to third place. In spite of trailing the Tories and LibDems each by four points (as pointed out in this pie chart from the Labour-backing Daily Mirror), Labour could still walk away with a plurality of seats come 6 May, given the eccentricities of the first-past-the-post system that has been part of the voting landscapes for the UK & much of the US the past two centuries.

If that happens, the LibDems will have no part in a coalition government headed by Labour. Party leader Nick Clegg made that clear during his appearance on BBC One's The Andrew Marr Show today, adding he would expect to be Prime Minister if his party received more votes than Labour and Labour wanted to establish a Lib-Lab coalition. Meanwhile, as Labour attempts to channel the spirit of a certain crooner from Graceland, Tory rhetoric now shows signs of slowly opening up to the prospect of a coalition with the LibDems.

With the tide remaining against Labour, perhaps the song “Suspicious Minds” would be an accurate description of much the UK electorate's feeling toward them. And despite claiming substance over style, Labour have been quick to roll out the red carpet, utilising longtime celebrity supporters Eddie Izzard and David Tennant in their party broadcasts. But the Prime Minister has one thing going right for him – he's channelling one of the greatest underdog successes of 20th century politics. And with Clegg going so far as to call Labour irrelevant, Brown just might want his supporters to shout another four-word phrase to propel him into Thursday's debate in the Midlands:

“Give 'Em Hell, Gordon.”

If that doesn't work for him, he'll have plenty of time to embark on a lecture tour starting at Westminster College in Fulton. It'll be a perfect starting point for Brown, not only because it's where a certain leader of the opposition delivered one of the most poignant speeches of the 20th century, but as the son of a Presbyterian preacher, Brown will feel right at home on a Presbyterian college campus.