It took Obama to reveal him for what he is.

Can Rudd and Labor?

Yes, good point Ranier.

One thing I have noticed this year is that, in Howard's desperation, he is finally starting to show his true colours and his far-right way of thinking is starting to seep through.

I feel a deep sense of dismay that Australia's political climate had to come to this for most of the electorate to realise Howard's ultra-conservative way of thinking.

But it is a great relief to see that the more apathetic Australians are (finally) starting to see through the Mr Moderate act. It must take a lot of mind-numbing reality TV and Australian Idol to dull ones senses to that point!

Hopefully it will be a long time before this country has such a lax view of far-right politics again.

I truly hope that a Post-Howard Liberal party can regain at least a little bit of center-ground again. The way I believe Menzies intended it to be.

John Simpson,

Yes true. I think in general terms Australians do not have a problem with a kind of organic political conservatism but do have problems with right wing extremism.

Howard's national levers of fear and greed have broken handles.

His dog whistle is barely audible.

In 1996 the domestic hegemonic perspective was insular and nationalistic. It still is but it now has a lens for global issues and perspectives.

The levers that inform this lens are beyond Howard’s reach but well within the reach of the aspirational ambitions of Rudd.

It is the combination of national and international issues that are shaping the electoral perspective.

In other words Rudd can say what he would like to do internationally. There is no new ground for Howard to harvest internationally. We already know who and WHAT he is.

If a terrorist attack were to occur here Howard the opportunist would silently rejoice.

But npw he has lost the ability to masquerade his private political ambitions to the ordinary man in the street.

The game is up!

Some papers had provided info of Howard Sr.'s membership at a local Australian branch of English fascist party prior to its being banned around the end of WWII.

Family values matter sometimes, is it a modern notion?

Oh Chainsmoker, please don't deprive of us of watching How Hard either sit sulkily on the back benches for 3 years or the even greater shame of resigning and creating a by election. Please!

Perhaps he will resort to a wheelchair and mask like someone who ran away to Spain?

No matter how much fun it would be to see him unseated I want the other demonstration. How Hard who cares for....himself!

Where are you Glen? Sitting by the Murray watching Turnbull sell carbon credits? Floating somehwere in an effluent drain pipe?

Perhaps rushing around buying all that affordable housing? Speak up, we can't hear you.

MichaelK, what is that fascist party please and where is the newspaper reference. "Some papers"? Be specific otherwise you must work for FOXNEWS. They use the "Some people etc" line all the time with no backup.

Note the fascist white OZ party that is supporting the Coalition. Today.

Thanks to those answering my rhetorical question re the US helping OZ. Never happened did it all? All we get from the US is Rap, Golden Arches, baggy knee length shorts with crutches below the knee, backwards baseball caps, movies we can't understand without subtitles and most of all...... Corruption.

RobbynH.,

Very broad articles on this topic were regularly published in The Citizen of the known Australian Civil Liberties - so-called "La Roche party".

Surely not a fun of La Roche, I have no reason to reject information repeatedly presented in writing to public - as well as an interesting page-volume research of the Howards involvement (The Age) in Papua
industries at the time.