Belly,
there's another thing I fear about Kevin becoming PM. It's the Peter Principle (google it). This is particularly relevant in the public service which is the backbone of Labor. People get promoted when they are good at their position until they reach a stage where they are incapable of performing their duties & that's where they remain. This is the reason why the IR laws are so important. IR may look bad to those who only look at their Super policy but those who care for society as a whole can see it's merit.

Individual I fear I can not calm your fears, however if you sit and read I may just add to your education.
Left! ah the boogy man comes! Rudd is not from the left, nore am I and like it or not a great many trade unions are while left of center hardly Lefty's.
A second after mad Mark Lathams gift of the senate to Howard conservative Australia rejoiced.
Rightly so! that ALP team did not deserve to win a chook raffle!
Johny old fella however took to his Aussie battlers! indeed surely not understanding the full impact he flogged low income earners with a weapon called workchoices.
After Australia elects Kevin Rudd, a financial conservative, will you have the good graces to except the voters intentions that you no doubt had on election night 2004?
12 months into Rudd's first term , with his polling even higher than now will you remember your charges? will you admit you got it very wrong?
election night at my place come, lots of fun and joy better than that a new start for Australia.

12 months into Rudd's first term , with his polling even higher than now will you remember your charges? will you admit you got it very wrong?
Belly,
12 months is a totally unrealistic period to judge a new Government. Closer to the end of the three year term is where it counts. The performance of an either good or bad Government doesn't show for years. The Whitlam legacy is still haunting us today. Go back further (I wasn't even here then) when the Snowy mountains Scheme was built. We're still enjoying the benefits from that administration. The fact that the rivers are now in trouble is not a reflection of the government of that time. It's from later ones which allowed not only too much use of the water but straight-out exploitation. Look at the disaster that was the removal of national service. ALP & the Coalition both have done good & silly things. The fact remains that the ALP has a greater %age of the latter. A Canadian visiitor was recently quoted in the Courier Mail as saying "Australians must be stupid, they have the best economy in the world & they want to sack their Government".
Belly, if things are as good as you claim they will be but in three years from now not just one then I will concede. It'll take Labor at least three years to blow the dough.

I find your post interesting, to me it is a symptom, evidence of why we are indeed going to see a change of government.
You go way back to 1975 to find fault with my party, yet ignore AWB, children over board and so many lies.
The denial of climate change then its adoption, the claim workchoices was fair then the changes.
Taking credit for a world wide boom, but not excepting in the past dreadful interest rates had help from such a world wide rise.
I except those interest rates hurt this country ,but how can we ignore they had been even higher while Howard was treasurer?
This one term turn around, from glory to defeat is John Howard's work.
Soon conservative Australia will debate that issue and in rebuilding that side of politics we will have a better country.
If I came from your side of politics I would be more concerned at the part your side has played in electing Kevin Rudd.

Belly you put up a sound argument on many of your points but myself as a swinging voter beleive we need a change in government.
Howard and Costello are attempting to buy the election with their proposed tax cuts but they fail to guarantee they wont take the money back in other cunning ways.
I helped elect John Howard in and now I hope to help elect him out.
I have seen first hand the error of Howards I.R. Reforms. Work Choice is not doing the job the advertising campaign alleges they are doing.
Every week we hear of people losing their homes, interest rate rises are mostly the cause of this.
I am niether pro nor anti union but our history involves the trade union movement.
I could go on and on about many promises given in the past only to be forgotten when they were elected.

gypsy it may be hard to believe ,but I can put my country before my party.
Those who can not? gee that would be near betrayal of that country would it not?
Laying aside my membership of the ALP , my hurt at the pain workchoices is doing daily I think in my heart we must change the government.
And while despite the lies I know Rudd will not be the unions friend, will not give us 10% of what we want.
Think he will lead us away from a very deep hole we are digging for our country.
The current anti union add is a fear tactic and hurts John Howard more than the ALP.
It highlights government by lies and miss information ,not in any way facing the fact Howard rules a government run by big business, for big business.