"Poor Jews,everybody's scapegoat." A very timely comment.Perhaps attacking a relief ship in international waters,murdering 19 and injuring 60 is OK with you.Perhaps the stealing of Palistinian land and their slow genocide,under the veil of Islamic terrorism justifies a lot of misplaced sympathy.
The Islamic States have been demonised so the neo-cons can control the Middle East oil.

"From my point of view, the first serious disappointment was the reaction of the KRudd government to the insulation scandal."

It took you that long?

Well do I remember one of my colleagues stating, "Kevin 07: Dudd 08".

For myself, a previously rusted-on Labor voter, I detested Kevin Rudd from the get-go, and I decided that everyone who thought they were ushering in some glorious new post-Howard era was a fool.

The most overt piece of idiocy I observed in late '07 was 3JJJ incessantly playing the Herd's (how ironic) 'The King is dead'. 'Oh, how wrong you are,' I thought. And I was right.

Still, it's a fine exercise in schadenfreude, watching the trendy, green lefties who voted for Kevvy Darling, spluttering in self-righteous indignation as a Christian conservative from Queensland behaves exactly like you'd expect a Christian conservative from Queensland to.

The public are hungry for honesty in politics and for substance. Rudd has certainly disappointed many who voted for his party. I think the ALP came into power with good intentions, including to be more inclusive hence the summits etc.

The problem has been the delivery end of things and some broken promises along the way. Rudd's mistake has been to cut government spending while at the same time increasing government programs. One and one will always make two. It is not possible for three people to do the work that six once did, and to keep abreast of rorts, delivery and oversight functions. Public servants tried and failed to capture the government's attention - the insulation program a good example.

There is still a huge shortage of government housing with burgeoning waiting lists, many become homeless for short periods of time. This problem was to be addressed in the nation building package but was reduced in favour of, in some cases, overpriced school buildings. For someone who wanted to reduce homelessness this is quite unforgiveable.

I disagree with LE on the Israeli situation, while there are many pressing issues on government, it should not mean that other areas are neglected. The whaling decision is a long time coming and many were calling for action - I am a bit sceptical as to why now, it is not a new issue. Whether or not legal action in the International Courts will fly is another matter.

The PM makes the mistake that many pollies, make and it is to get sucked up into the media mindset of spin. Instead of just being honest and upfront the spinner thinks "how can I appear to be more honest and a down to earth guy...I know I will do this (x)". Politicians have got themselves so caught up in this US style presidency mode that even people like Cory Bernardi, Tony Abbott and Barnaby Joyce seem refreshing by comparison. People like their politicians to be human even if they disagree on principles.

At the last Federal election the ALP only got my second preference, but I did have higher hopes for a Rudd government than what's transpired.

With respect to the insulation and BER debacles, they were obviously poorly managed (if not conceived) initiatives that were implemented too quickly in the context of ameliorating the impacts of the GFC on the Australian economy. We'll never know, but if they had been better managed both schemes weren't necessarily bad ideas in themselves.

What disappoints me most is the sheer amount of poll-driven spin and backflipping that we see daily from the Rudd government. They look scared, and I'll be unsurprised if they don't get another term.

I disagree with Legal Eagle regarding the diplomatic response to Israel's forging of Australian passports to facilitate illegal assassination. Israel is increasingly exposing itself as a rogue State with total disregard for international law and human rights. If Australia expels a Mossad agent in response to one of these transgressions perpetrated against our sovereignty, then that's the kind of "symbolic gesture" I'd like to see more of.

The Legal Eagle seems to favour the likes of feckless Abbott, possibly the greatest mistake in the history of the country as a leader of anything, let alone a political party. Perhaps volleyball may be OK.
So even though legal eagle criticises the PM, no one should see as an alternative the Abbott / Bishop team of a knave and a naivete, a perfect matched pair, trundling the world stage making puerile comments on matters on which they are totally unable to comprehend. Like the writer, who thinks the insidious Jews should be able to get away with anything, Abbott and Bishop, whose motives must be now questioned, thought the Israeli fifth column in the country should be patted on the back and told " please don't do that again fellas". Now if Malcolm Turnbull was a candidate in an alternative leader team, and he came back for some reason, one could have a level of confidence that once he shed some of the Catholic Pell's brigade of Hockey, Abbott Pine and others, all clearly educated in the risky environment of a Catholic school, probably half their problem, we may again see a secular society and all the advantages that brings together with a credible leader able to put two words together. We would then see strong opinions on the corruption and graft created by the Jews and as lives in the US body politic and a strong stance on the despicable murder in international waters by the most hated nation in the world.
He is someone one could admire unlike Abbott, clearly a fool.

Oh, the crocodile tears, the "more-in-sorrow-than-anger" hypocrisy: the strawman we set up (St Kevin) has let us down!

"Politics is the art of the possible" - ever heard that. And Honest Politician is an oxymoron. Spare me the faux sorrow, the gnashing of teeth, the breast beating. (Oh, and I do love the clever subtlety of "KRudd".)

Rudd is a politician who is using what resources he has to get fair tax policies into law. And who will benefit? The great majority of the Australian people, that's who!

If Rudd wasn't doing what he is, THEN his critics might have something to complain about.