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Samak has not been known for being tactful and diplomatic when it comes to direct speeches against adversaries. The public perceives that his careless talk and loose lips have landed him in serious trouble, gaining him negative publicity and several libel suits with the risk of jail terms.

But his achievement, like it or not, after all the cheap talk and rough behaviour, is seen clearly in him becoming prime minister. His combative, right-wing political streak and uncompromising attitude have also won him allies who have carried him all the way to Government House in his twilight years.

His Sunday morning TV talk serves him well if he needs to attack political rivals, critics or hostile groups. He can confuse the public and gain more support among admirers who gave him votes during his race for the Bangkok governorship.

After six months, Samak cannot be counted out. He still defies political watchers and gurus who previously believed that he would not last that long. The way he keeps himself quite secure on the political tightrope shows that his long years in rough-and-tumble politics have not been a futile struggle.

Now one of the oldest politicians around, Samak proves he is still very active, full of spice and vinegar, with a lot of resources in his bag of tricks. Among his greatest claim is that there is nothing for his foes and the media to dig up and finish him off. With confidence, he declares time and again that he will last his term.

Fond of cats, Samak is likened to a politician with nine lives. Now he has completed another Cabinet reshuffle amidst complaints over his choice of ministers with serious credibility and image problems, not to mention criminal cases some of them have yet to clear up.

Is it his exceptional ability to use the negative aspects of his survival instinct for self-serving purposes without any sense of right and wrong? Critics have pointed out his indifference to the call for him to work for the public good. That includes the selection of respectable people with integrity as Cabinet members. He just did otherwise.

Now 73 years old, Samak still shows craftiness in dealing with politicians from diverse backgrounds and with various vested interests. Political watchers now see him as a permanent replacement for Thaksin Shinawatra, the man who set him up as a nominee.

But he is not a nominee any more. Samak has gradually made it clear to all that he is independent, while luring others into a false sense that he still serves their vested interests. Thaksin may be well aware of the end of Samak's obedience, but it is more or less too late. Thaksin's legal troubles and the strong likelihood of a jail term only compound his frustrations.

Yet Samak manages to retain Thaksin's men in his Cabinet - to eventually serve as future scapegoats when the ongoing struggle to rein in the economic problems fail. Then he can make more Cabinet reshuffles, putting trusted hands in key positions. A perfect coup de grace, so to speak. 

When the People's Alliance for Democracy targets Thaksin as its chief enemy, Samak appears, reasonably, as the strong guardian of the embattled man who put him in power. He led others to believe that he was all for the boss, while actually doing very little and being far less helpful. Lip service is another quality in addition to the loose tongue. 

With guile and deception, using showmanship and straight talk to baffle the naïve, this strategy is nothing spectacular for cunning politicians to use in pursuit of more power. Samak needs no training in this area.

The long lecture for news reporters and TV cameramen to learn proper manners and the rights to privacy of others in front of the public toilets at his favourite shopping place on Sunday was another good example of theatrics to divert public attention from hot issues.

That scene will be a topic for the public to talk and laugh about for days, casting Samak in more bad light. That will again serve him well. By appearing like a political clown in public, Samak has successfully fooled others, leaving him with more days still in power and a strengthened hand.

Of course, he still has more acts to play out for political gain, and perhaps with the last loud laugh, yet. What else is there to lose after his character and credibility was wrecked a long time ago?