Dennis,
Now thats more like it ol son. Good one.

"Labor’s strategy abides by the old gentleman’s agreements - the unwritten rules that have stood since Robert Menzies’ time:

- you don’t talk about race;
- you don’t politicise national security or the armed forces;
- you respect multiculturalism and keep off the subject of immigration; and
- you tell the truth.
"

Which Labor is being refered to here? Clearly not the ALP. I'd fail them on all of the above. Not defending Howard with this post but I suspect some rose coloured glasses are being used when looking at the alternative.

R0bert

In this analysis, we find that Howard is to blame for just about everything other than the extinction of the dinosaur - oh hang-on, Dennis came pretty close to blaming that on the Libs as well:).

In this view Howard only works to stay in power. Um..I'd forgotten how popular the GST was when he fought an election on it. Clearly he only supported the GST because opinion polling told him it was a real winner.

And he gets the white working class vote because he has developed 'soft racism'. Here's a thought - he gets the working class vote because many of them recognise that Labor no longer has their interests at heart. Emblematic of this is the Tasmanian forest case. The Tasmanian loggers were abandoned because Labor wanted to prove its credentials to the inner city green vote – the workers went elsewhere to find those who were concerned for their interests.
Howard hasn’t said its OK to hate Muslims but he has made it possible to voice disapproval of that culture and religion. Muslims slitting the throats of air-hostesses and flying planes into building have made it OK to hate (some) Muslims without Howard’s help.

But my favourite here was the idea that he opposes compulsory student unionism because he wants to stop anti-Libs from being trained. Struth what a stretch. How about as a liberal he is opposed to compulsory anything and wants students to have the same rights as the rest of the community to join or not join whatever group they desire.

Maybe it is just possible that Howard operates on a set of principles that the majority of the community support.

Since when did a majority naturally represent truth?

John Howard lately has been looking like a winner, with Labor in retaliation, according to Denis Glover of Latrobe University, looking very much like a loser. Labor, according to Glover, has been too moderate, even prepared to go with the winners, as proven by their halfway support for the US attack on Iraq. Further gutlessness was shown during the recent election when Labor decided to let Aussie troops stay in Iraq if Labor won the election.

From one with a good philosophical knowledge of Machiavellianism, John Howard should be warned the way he is carrying on that he could wake one morning like Jeff Kennett of Victoria, and find all his political hopes dashed or crashed.

Though not showing it, Howard should be mentally on the edge, his new-found Macho’ mind somewhat like Richard Nixon’s when he was trying to extricate himself from the Kissinger-caused Cambodian nemesis of the Vietnam War.

One thing that has been worrying our political thinkers or middle of the roaders, has been an episode of SBS with George Negus to do with our much-disputed bi-lateral trade agreement with the US. It is to do with a shipment of Brazilian carcase meat landed in Australia, but now apparently secretly buried somewhere in Queensland because it was found that Brazil meat exports had been banned to Australia owing to strict regulations on “foot and mouth” disease. However, some arrangement had been made apparently that if Brazil innoculated their cattle against foot and mouth our ban on such exports could be lifted. The critical question is who allowed such a dangerous arrangement to be made, especially as the SBS video showed uninjected animals from an unfenced neighbouring state mixing with the Brazilian stock.

Yes, a study of Machiavellianism does show that if a formerly honest man takes it on and gains by it, his honesty will be put to the test when he starts to lose, then his new Macho’ mentality will having him acting too much like Tricky Dicky and the impeachment and dishonour that followed

RObert claimed that Labor had kept to the Gentlemen's agreements since Menzies time, one of which was not to talk about race.

Even I can remember Arthur Calwell, Leader of the Opposition, and his famous saying "Two wongs don't make a white".

Fair Go, RObert