How naive can you be? When were elections not about political survival?

The root cause of the author’s frustration is democracy where the vote of the thinking voter with vision is neutralised by the vote of the reactionary voter with no vision. After the neutralisation process, we are left with a surplus of no-vision people which our politicians have to pander to.

We cannot get rid of democracy - but the next best thing is get rid of compulsory voting. If not compelled to vote, then many of the visionless will find something else to do on polling day.

Yes - it should be written that all parties produce a pre-election paper outlining their beliefs, policies and vision for Australia and we can just get on and vote without the need to unravel and digest the indigestible coming out of Canberra.

Otherwise one can look forward to more manufactured, spinned out, hyperbolic and nauseating statements, buzz words and thinly disguised attempts to stupefy an already saturated electorate with hypnotising and meaningless rhetoric which some PR practitioner has purported will so mesmerize the voter with nonsense they will forget the issues.

Are we really that dumb?

the 2007 australian federal election is not about political survival for the coalition, However, it is about political survival for Labor & it's academic affilliates'.
The most important factor in this election is to look further than idealists' policies. Yes global warming is an important factor but I ask anyone how Australia can contribute in the fight against global warming when there are some three billion consumers in waiting in the emerging big economies. Anyone voting Labor because of their global warming gimmicks better go & do their sums when it comes to individual countries' contribution to that phenomenon. Australia can do Jacks..t about global warming, so get that into you. Where Australia is in a good position is international relations by it's relatively open door policies to refugees which, per capita is at the top of the list & therefore an example to the world. Also an example to the world is the relative freedom in Australia. What really scares me about australian democracy is that you can have 200 idealist youngsters out-voting 50 pragmatic & mature adults.

Hmm, grand visions. Every year we had a grand vision for the Primary School Fete. Each time inspiration and imagination brought about new, spectacular events that were sure to bring ever larger crowds. Every year we made much the same amount of money. There is a law of school fetes; the total of resources, energy and wallets remains in constant relation to the size of the school. Likewise with nations.

makes you weep, dunnit? someone's tax money is supporting this precious jerk.