Thanks 'smoker and others.

I just heard the editor of the bulletin saying that Ratty Howard is on the nose with a few nervous backbenchers who are briefing journalists "off the record" to say that Peter Costello should have been made leader last year.

Not a happy lot of campers in the coalition, interesting times. 3.3% swing is very possible and is scaring the pants off of Libs and Nats in marginal seats. :)

Rainier is right. For Howard to make that childish swipe at Obama, he must be feeling either desperate but really proving a weakness that he has had all along.

Faith in big power, no matter what the make-up. No matter a White House run mostly by neo-cons and oil executives, whom full of so much bullsh-t bravado had published 'The American Project for the 21st Century'.

While many have disappeared from news services, we still have
Dick Cheney and Condoleeza Rice, two of the highest positions next to a President who continually dreams about his God-given role of ridding this world of all evil.

Dick Cheney is about to pay us a visit. But bet he fails to mention how a big percentage of the US forces in Iraq are guarding the oilfields, making sure Cheney and Condoleza's oily camp followers can get on with the job.

Come on Johnny, we know you love to be in with the big-time,
might be about time you took a raincheck, however. Not before time either, because most practised historians have had your destiny worked out for two years at least.

Mr OMG,I've spoken to bureaucrats employed in Gough's era and he spent like there was no tomorrow.Yes,it only took him one term and that was the main reason he was sacked.Now if you want present examples,just have a close look at all our Labor State Govts.NSW is stuffed.Victoria is on the slide and Beatty is getting on the nose in Queensland.Joh may have been corrupt,but he ran a tight ship and got things done.

Gough did a few positive things for the arts,however too much social security,and the loss of discipline/respect began with his era.

Which is worse,economic ineptitude which hurts millions or a bit of corruption?I think in NSW we have both.

Steve,
Welcome back mate, I'm happy that all went well for you, 3.3% is doable, but it will be the fight of Rudd's political life, I hope he does as well as you have done in your fight mate, all the best, Shaun.

Arjay,

Victoria “on the slide”! I live here and it is so much better than when the Liberals ruled the state. Partly, it is due to buoyant economic conditions throughout the whole country, but it is also due to the work of the Labor government that has been gradually rebuilding public services after the 1992-99 disaster.

If we are going to judge today by the Whitlam era, why not go all the way and talk about the Barton Government?

Those who predict the election result now have a 50 per cent chance of being right, and will no doubt brag if they are. If they are wrong, they will just remain silent.

Labor has a real chance. If you read The Australian, you will have noticed the number of times it has had editorials or opinion pieces pushing Kevin Rudd to turn the Labor Party into a Liberal Party. This suggests to me that it is worried about a Labor victory and is therefore doing its best to make such an event less meaningful. So far, Labor has lacked clarity. As time passes, it is going to have to get to the details. This will show us all where it stands.

When the Victorian Liberals lost in 1999, the papers were full of letters from disgruntled Liberals predicting doom and gloom, falling skies, the end of life as we know it. It was nothing but hot air. In fact, Labor managed the state's finances and social policies so well that it went on to win in two historic landslides in 2002 and 2002. If Labor wins the federal election, I believe it will have an even bigger victory at the subsequent double dissolution because those who still have doubts will be convinced by its performance once in government, just as Victorians have been.

Did any one else hear that Senator Nick Minchin is telling people that Howard developed his water policy without refering it to cabinet?