"He is the first of the modern crop of Australian prime ministers to have a physical presence and sporting capabilities. In a world where sport plays a major role in the lives of most Australian children and adults, Whitlams, Frasers, Hawkes, Keatings, Howards, Rudds and Gillards proved relatively incapable."

That would have to be the most bizarre recommendation of political worth I have ever seen. If you are looking for a role model, I would have thought that John Howard's brisk morning walks had far more of an impact than Abbotts' self-indulgent look-at-me sporting activities and photo opportunities. Why should a politician have to exercise in public at all? Malcolm Turnbull looks as fit as a flea, apparently without benefit of a media contingent tracking his exercise regime.

As to Tony Abbot speaking slowly, it's not the speed it's the simplistic words and phrases he uses. Why does he address people as though they finished their education at primary school? He has speech writers and spin doctors - someone should be putting smarter words in his mouth. His Ministers don't speak down to their audience the same way. So why does he do it? It's very curious.

Abbott's diplomatic efforts have been largely successful, in fact far more so than any other PM in 7 years.

Yes watching it I could only wonder, how come the left wing are so full of hatred and bitterness?

Candide's post is a good example of the ilk. Hating Abbott for exercise, baselessly imputing bad faith and character defects at him for playing sport, reviling him for a simplicity when talking, when she would revile him for anything anyway.

That's when they're pretending to moderation. Their preferred refrain is "Kill Abbott".

These are the ones who think they should be telling everyone else how to make the perfect society - by way of the force and intimidation of the state of course, what else?

The point is, there is no reasoning with these people, and it is state funding that breeds them: their taxpayer-funded education in leftoid resentment, their feeling of entitlement to live at others' expense, their creeds of fake victimhood, their blind worship of state power.

It's quite nauseating and the only way to get rid of this cancer is to cut, and cut, and cut the state-funded parasite industries where they feed.

Plowing in to the population that are the most vulnerable with a "bulldozer" equipped with a "ripper blade" and "tree spear" is hardly "statesman like" all he has to do is pull levers, wink and giggle.

And given exactly the very same logic, not necessarily a good or just barely adequate one either.
I mean, given the accompanying entourage, a drovers dog would likely do as well, or even better?
Rhrosty.

Yes JKJ, and the biggest state funded parasites, are those comparatively wealthy folks, talking most of it.
Our welfare budget for the genuinely needy, is around 50 billion per.
Family trusts, cost the budget bottom line around 32 billions per.
Negative gearing, costs the budget bottom line, 5 annual billions.
We give more state funded charity, as tax breaks on wealthy super, another 30 billions and rising above 50 billion inside a decade.
How's that for parasitical blood sucking on a monumental scale?
And the government, could have clawed back the welfare it gives to private health recipients, by simply cancelling the 3 annual billions used to subsidize private health cover; and then ensured, that publicly funded health, for those on the lowest rungs of the socioeconomic ladder, was protected, by means testing all public health and education!
Look, those who claim entitlements, that should be earmarked for the genuinely needy, are no better than commercial operators, stealing donated salable merchandise, from life line bins, or charity funds from the poor box!
Welfare for the genuinely needy, 50 billions annually.
Contrast that with welfare for the rich, as outlined above, 70 billion per, and rapidly rising!
Yes JKJ, you make an excellent case for eliminating entirely unearned and therefore undeserved, parasitical predatoration on the budget bottom line.
Who can honestly mount a cogent case, for giving the fattest cats even more cream, while our elderly, most who have paid taxes, and for all of their working lives, and at seriously higher rates than those in vogue today, shiver all winter, because their exponentially shrinking budgets have been squeezed to the point, where that sort of thing is now an unaffordable luxury.
As for pensioners, pissing their benefit up against the wall etc!
No genuine pensioner can afford to behave like this, or indeed, live in multi-million dollar mansions, on acreage estates!
And once again JKJ, there's even more common agreement, on limiting the professional parasitical predation, as represented by those claiming benefits, they're clearly not entitled to, on simple (total) financial grounds!
Rhrosty.