It is a sign of the times that the leader of the Conservative Party declares that the nation's sense of well-being is the central political challenge of those times and not economic regeneration. It's a sign of how used we've all become to an era of never-ending economic growth. A sign too of how keen Mr Cameron is to challenge the notion that his is a party obsessed with money alone.
Is this speech about more though than political positioning? The Tories insist it is - that they are staking out the middle ground between laissez-faire and over regulation... between indifference and interference. A promise to make the British public sector a world leader in the way it treats its employees and to stop burdening business with bureaucracy is, they say, evidence of how that approach could improve life in the workplace (speeches are to follow on the family and the community).
Labour have been quick to point out that the Tories opposed extensions in maternity and paternity leave. They claim that the Tory leader's support for exhortation is not new politics but merely a new gloss on Tory opposition to minimum standards at work. It is how that debate plays out which will mark the true significance of today's speech
P.S. - In a sign that there may be just a little resistance amongst the grassroots to the politically correct Cameron leadership, Tory chairman Francis Maude has been forced to reassure Conservative constituency associations that the leadership is not trying to foist "mincing metrosexuals" on to "gritty northern" seats. So that's all right then.
He says this, apparently, in a podcast for "Tory Radio". Has it occurred to him that those this message is aimed at will neither know what a metrosexual or a podcast are?
P.P.S. - Talking of new means of communication, it's a little unfortunate that David Cameron praised a website in his speech today but failed to point out that it was a .com and not a .co.uk. Unfortunate because the UK website - and no I'm not telling you its name - is a site for those seeking casual sex. It includes an interesting quote from someone called "David 'married and cheating'" about his liaison with a housewife.
I wonder what his level of "well-being" is?
Happy Birthday Sir Menzies!
Actually, I suspect this is one birthday the Lib Dem leader would rather everyone ignored. Ming became a pensioner today which hardly helps his image at a time when Dead Ringers is portraying him as an old boy sat in an easy chair and when the media is reporting persistent grumbling about his performance since getting the job.
Clearly he's not had the most comfortable of starts in the Commons and has admitted that he has to do better in Prime Ministers' Questions. It's obvious that the Lib Dems would have preferred to have maintained their record of permanent electoral momentum in the local elections. But I wonder if people have forgotten the key thing about Ming.
A number of those close to the Lib Dem leader believe that their party is entering a period of maximum challenge and maximum opportunity - a period well suited, they believe, to Ming's political skills.
The challenge comes from Labour's troubles and the rise of the Tories. As one Lib Dem put it to me, "history shows that when the tide goes out for Labour, it goes out for us too". The opportunity stems from the growing sense in Westminster that a hung parliament is more likely than ever. Ming is respected by both the big parties. Both men who would be PM are already wooing him and his supporters.
David Cameron's claim to be a "liberal Conservative" is, in part, a bid for Liberal votes but it is also a bid to lower Lib Dem opposition to a parliamentary arrangement if the Tories need them to form a government (witness William Hague's thoughts in this week's Spectator).
Gordon Brown's new-found interest in constitutional reform - some even wonder if he'll back electoral reform - is, in part, driven by his desire to keep the Lib Dems sweet in case he needs them. Ming Campbell and Gordon Brown often get the chance to chat on planes and trains on their way to and from their Scottish constituencies. It's worth recalling too that Vince Cable wrote a chapter in the Red Book edited by Gordon Brown many years ago.
The thing about Ming may turn out to be his capacity to form alliances even with a smaller number of MPs than he has now. The biggest obstacle to that though would be if his party regards this ambition as defeatist and insists it could and should win many more seats - perhaps with a different leader.
