Old age is a the great leveler.No matter how good you thought you were,the body and mind decay.

Hawke and Keating in my view destroyed this country with economic rationalism.They have empowered corporate control of our political process to the extent that voting has become a meaningless process.

Our Govts can no longer create new money to even equal a fraction of our increases in productivity.They sold off 4 State Govt banks and the Commonwealth.All our money is now created as debt and we cannot afford the infrastructure/education for our economy to grow.

It's voters who reject leaders, and these days mostly labor leaders.

Bob Hawke's smooch the kiss of death? No. you can't blame Hawkey for that one. Old Hawkey (the man who set a record at Oxford for drinking)
was only doing what he does best. And you don't see any of the ladies complaining. He always was willing to give it a red hot go
(at least until his back gave out). But it you want to make fun of
former PM's how about "Jogging Johnny's" brown-nosing anything with stars and stripes? or our current "Action Man Abbott" (he who would be PM) You've got to admit there's something intrinsically sick about a man who loves running around in lycra and generally flexing his muscles for the cameras and coming out to the surf in a pair of speedos like Daniel Craig in a Bond movie. Although I've got to admit I don't know any women in politics that would actually pucker up for "Hero-Skills Abbott?" for the cameras, not even "Faithful Deputy Julie B."

Lexi,

You need to get over you Howard Hating, as you are about to have plently of years to abuse Liberal PMs and Premiers ... cos after the next federal election there will be very very few, if any, Labor leaders anywhere in Australia, for years to come.

Thank God, Carr, Iemma, Rees, Kennealy, Rudd, Latham, Gillard, Beattie, Bligh, Carpenter, Bracks, Brumby and all the spinmiesters, especially that Hawker bloke, that got them into power, spun their non-achievements and have left NSW, Victoria, Queensland, West Australian and Australia in a much worse off position than when they took over from very successful Liberal and National Party Premiers and PMs.

There's another, rather unflattering pic in today's Australian, of Bob going the pucker-up on our Julia. It's detail is such that you can count the liver spots on his face - all in all, more than slightly unattractive.

Interestingly, if you put that picture alongside that of Bob'n'Kristina, one question immediately insinuates itself into your subconscious.

They are both reacting as if he is literally - as opposed to politically or figuratively - errr, how shall I put it... on the nose.

I wonder.