A man already known for his chillaxing tendencies, Dave has spent much of the campaign going through the motions, as if he believed that by constantly repeating "competence or chaos" he would automatically be given back the keys to No 10.
Clegg then mocked one of the Tories' central campaign messages – that they offer competence rather than the chaos of their opponents.
The moral debate over welfare could soon yield to yet another argument over competence.
The Tories lost their reputation for economic competence on Black Wednesday in 1992 and would have to suffer three election defeats before they were allowed anywhere near the steering wheel again.
Crosby, who faced criticism for devising a heartless campaign that focused on the "long-term economic plan" and how the Tories offered competence versus Labour chaos, will now be praised for running a highly disciplined campaign.
The good news for Osborne is that the most recent polls also show that, when it comes to economic competence, the British public trust Osborne and the Conservatives more than his shadow, Ed Balls, and the Labour party.
The government's immediate task is to restore its reputation for competence.
In addition to the Scot Nats, Ukip and plain nationalism, the two big factors in the election seemed to be the rejection of Ed Miliband and the Conservatives' higher rating for economic competence.
Miliband struggles on competence – the bungled Manchester speech or the many failures summed up in Fraser Nelson's remark, quoted in Tim Bale's new book on the Labour leader, that Miliband consistently fails to throw a second punch.
The real winner on O'Donnell's report card approach, though, is Nicola Sturgeon, who exudes competence, scores strongly on shared values (as long as you are a Scot), and who, having shaken off the earlier pejorative "nippy sweetie" tag of which David Torrance writes in his new biography, is nowadays is making a serious effort to come over as likeable.
In both these cases, ordinary people used technologies of connection to help them steer their own affairs, not merely managing complex domains to a minimal threshold of competence, but outperforming the official bodies formally entrusted with their stewardship.
