I suppose it is fair comment, the piece about sticking pins in voodoo dolls as a sign of political impotence but what fun and so many the fun lasts a long time.
Granted to get emotional about the moves to place blame and responsibility at others doorstep does not help. It is however very hard to retain stable blood pressure as one hears of Iraq failing to make good or learning that councils will suffer penalty should they not act to reduce greenhouse gas when our honoured members of Government given responsibility by the electorate first were caught up in the Climate lobby effort of debunking with great dishonesty, indicating an aim unrelated to solving the problem and then presumably by the lobbies in Australia who had as the climate lobby had, material gain on offer.
Perhaps had the Commission for the future been retained at least action ten years earlier may have occurred.
Perhaps if population had not disappeared from polite conversation we might have made effort at balancing population and the ability of our country to provide the necessaries.
Perhaps if the Nuclear lobby was less effective in displaying big bickies for Australia’s future including as is now obvious as not only a supplier of Uranium but as a waste disposal site in the Northern territory.
Perhaps if we were not blinded by our concentration on wealth as a measure of our being we would disbelieve the economists who think on the one hand the market can solve everything and that resources are infinite because as one depletes an alternative will be found.
I wonder what we will drink and our crops use in a few years from now-still I am sure the economists have something in the wings as they have for a new dump now the atmosphere is filling up!

Politically SHOCKED and DISGUSTED. I cant concerntrate on party politics at present except to say the sooner we get an election and CHANGE in government the sooner we have a hope of restoring some national equity and balance.

Yes, I am talking about SUDAN. DARFUR. The way our immediate responsiblity is being fettered by a sterile group of LIBERAL politicians who are I believe, ripping the "guts" apart in FAIR_GO Australia.

SHAME SHAME SHAME!

Regarding immigration and the displaced Sudan refugee's. We pledged a certain amount to the World Summit. I believe settlement packages, forward thinking and HUMAN CARE could help us cut through strategies - to LEARN HOW WE CAN + HOW WE MUST SUPPORT AFRICA's DIRE and URGENT problems.

WE NEED TO HELP PROBLEM SOLVE!

GET A LIFE ANDREWS. Your use of good Australian policy is devoid of compassion and pitiless when it comes to understanding or building capacity toward Australia's "responsiblity" and leadership, together with the rest of the world.

I am looking for True Australian Leadership. I fear the future if we don't get it.

http://www.miacat.com
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A perceptive article, although I am not sure that Labor strategists have applied the depth of analysis implied by the writer. John Howard has never won an election (except perhaps the first one) - the other side has thus far always lost. The Beasley campaigns by and large staked their chances on the mantra that 'a vote for Howard is a vote for Costello' - a tactic easily negated. Tampa also helped. Mark Latham was torn to pieces by his own party - martyred by his own pre-leadership words and actions and was never going to win. At long last, Howard is up against a coordinated attack and a well planned strategy, and apart from plundering the public purse for advertising, and pork barreling to an extent never seen before in Australian politics, he is totally bamboozled.

I muse that the left and wringing wet centre would rather be noble in opposition than achieving something in government.

Could I caution posters that it may be a little premature to start discussing why Howard lost the election? After all, his full name is John Winston LAZARUS Howard; he has been written off so many times in the past that he must be on his eighth or ninth bypass by now.

The other thing that concerns me is the number of posters, including the ones preceding me in this thread, who may be in danger of self-harm if the Howard government is re-elected with a majority in both Houses. Are there any counselling services available?

Could I ask if the author has information the rest of us don't?

You say "If John Howard's Prime Ministership comes to an end".

Unless I'm uninformed it must come to an end. Even if that takes another 20 years it will come to an end.

Seriously though Howard's End was written as soon as he had control of the Upper House. He couldn't restrain himself could he?

Howard is the one who didn't learn from his own mistakes. He thought he really was that man of steel and found he is in fact made of clay.

The word Howard used the most about victory was hubris and boy hasn't it been a part of his life since he got that majority. Hubris Howard. Condescending, bullying, ignorant and unrepentant Howard.

Unfortunately this man thinks politics is a game when it actually ruins people's lives when run as an obsession as he does. Even now he cannot put Australia's interests before his own. This is evidenced by his massive spending outside the Budget Cycle.

No government can sustain the spending he commits to outside the Budget without doing great harm to the country. Costelloe was asked about this overspending today and he wouldn't answer. Why? Well he's already on record on this issue isn't he?

It's exactly the same as that $5,000 he gives to young mothers. It's a big amount to them so they spend it, not on the child more often than not. As Howard is spending the windfalls, not on the country but on his re election bid. Bugger the future.

Unfortunately, Pegasus, it's not just our money that Howard is throwing away. He is also trashing our reputation and self respect with his latest abuse of those unfortunate Sudanese refugees. This article, however, gives me some cause for optimism. If David Burchell is right then Howard may aced here too. Howard could be about to reap the whirlwind as he stirs up this flurry of prejudice into a storm of xenophobia. Could this be an ambush? We've been led to expect dirty tricks; Labor's refusal to take any bait offered so far has driven Howard to pull the race card; and he's shown his hand too soon, before he's called the election. It could be that community leaders, editorialists and state premiers will be raising a storm of protest by the time Field Marshall Rudd arrives on his white horse to address, not his troops, but the assembled people, united in their contempt for the Coalition. The war could be over before it's been declared!

Forgive my mixed metaphors, but I am quite exhilarated by the images stirred up by this article. Are we seeing entrapment here? Is this what Kevin07 meant when he talked about playing with Howard's head?
This isn't "political prudence", this is political cunning!