In his prepared remarks, Johnson worked hard to cement his position as frontrunner and made what appeared to be a firm commitment to take Britain out of the European Union on the latest deadline of October 31 -- with or without a deal.
"After three years and two missed deadlines, we must leave the EU on October 31. And we must do better than the current Withdrawal Agreement, which has been rejected three times," Johnson said.
Such solid support for a no-deal exit was designed for the ears of the people who will choose Britain's next Prime Minister -- the 150,000 or so members of the Conservative Party, who are largely, old, white, and, well, conservative.
But part of his tactic is to appeal to all sections of the party -- in particular some of the more moderate Members of Parliament whose support he needs in the initial stages of the contest.
So Johnson clarified that he was "not aiming for a no-deal outcome," merely that is was "responsible to prepare for it."
And in a sign of what a Johnson negotiating strategy might look like, he said that taking no-deal off the table would rob the UK of an essential "negotiating tool" in getting concessions from Brussels.
Despite this lack of clarity on the most important question in British politics, the speech did nothing to quash the idea that this leadership contest is Johnson's to lose.
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