Do some not realise that Rudd is not like that at all in fact? He was portrayed that way only by the wooden ducks who are now the government because he saw through their wooden duck ness.

They coasted on his coat tails and did nothing and then destroyed the smartest man in the room.

Not very smart.

As do I, Antiseptic.

>>I feel ever more justified for saying "a pox on both your houses" last election and not bothering to vote.<<

I'm almost disappointed that they haven't come after me, so that I could dispute and protest the penalty. But then I thought about the masses of red tape that would entail, and decided it would be better to keep schtum.

If Rudd's the smartest man in the room, the room's got to be full of women

Funny how people start talking about 'both parties' and a pox on 'both your houses' when Labor is in power. When Howard left people felt we needed a change but that he led a competent government, run for the majority by a man who had firm beliefs - whether you agreed with him or not.

Now we are left with the 'dregs of the working class'. Apparatchtiks lacking talent, lacking belief and lacking competence. Blundering from crises to crisis. All the time damaging the political and social fabric of the nation. What a disgrace.

And then we get people talking about 'both houses'. What rubbish. What is it with leftists and self delusion? Whitlam was a disaster but at least he believed in something. This rabble don't believe in anything except power.

Dane, its because both houses are lost in an egotistic power complex, and its nothing to do with the left, in fact do we have a political left in Australia.
We have become a selfish lot and the pollies play up to that, and sod those less fortunate.

Kipp,

11 years coalition government Australia = paid off 96 billion of Labor debt and 46 billion in bank
4 years of Labor with best terms of trade in 100 years = 130 billion debt.

We most certainly do have a left in Australia.

I've noticed that many people who only read fairfax papers seem to think they are centrist. That's the sort of self delusion that I'm talking about.