Woohoo... looks like I may be the first post.

Emma, your article is a great piece of propoganda, but it is a little short on analysis (not that I can blame you, since you are a member of the ALP). Kevin Rudd is the great white hope for the ALP, not because of what he stands for, but simply because he might be able to deliver victory for the ALP. I think that says it all. Politics is all about style over substance. The 'reinvention' of the ALP is merely a euphemism for adopting right-wing policies but softening them around the edges so that you can appeal to a slightly broader demographic. In reality, it is populism dressed up as policy.

Look at where it's got NSW in the last 12 years. If the ALP gets in at the next election, expect a slow degradation of services and infrastructure, an increase in unemployment, inflation and debt, and pandering to special interest groups who are vocal in the media. Political parties never change their spots, no matter how many 'reinventions' they go through.

The author states "It’s to Rudd’s credit that he and his new look Labor team have refused to fight fire with fire by engaging in similar grubby and personal attacks on their opponents."

Whilst I'd prefer Rudd over Howard, this is really being a little disingenuous.

When the AWB affair was being debated, Rudd was at the forefront of the offensive, and he did bring the debate into personal territory. While I've no doubt ALP figures would defend this as an exercise aimed at defending against corruption, at times, Rudd did go a little too far.

In recent days we've heard of Howard's lunching with a porn king, and there has been plenty of mud slung back at the coalition camp. Rudd can't be totally disconnected from this.

In my eyes, Rudd is the better option, but he's certainly not the man you describe - he gets into the grubby bits of politics. He has to.

Interesting the media never presses Rudd on his faith. Tony Abbott could justly feel singled out. The Howard haters would not care who it was leading Labour. They were happy to endorse Mr Latham (not very long ago). The ABC/SBS are in a frenzy that finally they see a chance of unseating their anti Christ. It will be fantastic viewing if they fail again.

Congratulations Gecko.

It’s hard to know just yet if Rudd will lead the ALP to victory but his track record would cast him as an embodied paradox rather than our saviour. Just think of SE Queensland. As the population grew in that section of Queensland it might have dawned on ‘forward thinking people’ that more drinking water might be needed. Rudd was instrumental in killing off the Wolfdene Dam. The policy that replaced the dam was a rain dance performed daily by Goss, Palaszczuk and Rudd. That’s hardly a sound policy to meet the needs of an ever increasing population.

Great white hope? More like great white dope.

Isnt it about time people stopped using the vacious phrase "Howard-haters" to describe those who quite rightly dont like either John Howard and his government?
In my opinion it says more about those who actually use the phrase and their tendency to reduce everything to black and white binary exclusions.
Perhaps they are the real haters?
Why not call all those on the "right" who seek to denigrate Kevin Rudd the "Rudd haters"?

I think the author hopes for too much - while Rudd is a chance to win it is any ones guess whether he will drag us out of our "antiquated" - political thinking.

Rudd cleverly enough has not said all that much - he has thrown the vision word in every now and then but can any one tell me precisly what his plans are? - crickets chirriping in the distance I hear.

Like most governments that have been in for a while they slowly implode or cave in on themselves - Rudd looks good mainly because the g'ubment looks bad - looking back the sins of the conservatives eventually gnaw away at the electorate and they get pissed - even if the economy os going gangbusters

The ALP has yet to put any meat on its policy framework - maybe when they do we can make some guesses as to where Rudd m ight take us

so all the rather bizarre and quaint commentary that appears here is a bit premature - the tired references to Howard Haters and all the bs about pandering to special interest groups -