Well Mr Right, good to see you're honest enough to include yourself in that classification.

I do find it interesting to see the dire warnings that come out from the defenders of the Howard era. Doom and gloom abounds, but I've yet to see any persuasive reasoning that indicates Mr Rudd will be any less of an effective economic manager than Howard was.

On the economic side of the equation, the only real gripe I had with Howard, was his lack of investment in infrastructure and his obsession with destroying unions - it became quite pathological by the end. I've never belonged to my union and was among those who cheered when he broke the wharfies, but he just took things far too far - in this day and age, unions have become quite tame, but he was determined to create some kind of working class enemy.
Plus, there was the fact that he was simply haemorrhaging funds to interest groups to buy votes by the end. $500,000 for the apes of Borneo? You think that convinces anyone?

On the social justice side of the equation however, Howard did our reputation enormous damage. Throughout Europe and the developed world, our reaction to the Tampa incident smeared us horribly. It was just plain inhumane - whatever your politics may be, for crying out loud, they were people in need on board that ship. Process them and deport them later if you must, but don't just turn your back.

His obstinate refusal to ratify kyoto, simply to garner US support - for crying out loud, we were meeting the targets.

His just plain idiotic attack on Barack Obama? What have you to gain by smearing a potential future leader of the US, when Bush is nearing the end of his term and you have a close relationship anyway? What kind of retarded diplomacy is that, anyway?

There are too many things, over too many years for me to list them here. But suffice to say, I think we're blessed that he's gone.

Dear Gibo,

In many ways - we should feel sorry for John Howard.

After 11 years in power all he is going to be remembered for is a failed war, a failed industrial relations policy, a failure to accept reality and commit to addressing climate change, and virtually closing our borders to non-white refugees.

I imagine that when he is listed in school texts for future generations, there will be just a short paragraph under his name saying - "John Howard was Australia's second-longest serving Prime Minister, and was only the second sitting PM to lose his seat in a general election. He also started the war against Iraq."

That's about it - it certainly won't be a long list of achievements.

His Prime Minister-ship was very much a wasted opportunity. One where he focused more on implementing his own ideology than working for the betterment of the nation and it's people.

Somewhere along the line he just lost touch with the people - and that can be the death of a political career, as he found out.

TRTL

I second everything you wrote in your last post.

I am so happy Howard has gone, just to hear him recently in the media gives me the chills. Like Bush he was the most unchristian of christians.

A pity the Libs still have the likes of Abbot, Pyne and Turnbull when they are in desperate need of a complete make-over.

TRTL

Just a note though, I disagreed with the methods used to break the wharfies' stranglehold on the docks - it was a harbinger of further unethical actions to come. I'm not saying the union didn't need bringing into line, BTW.

In the end the power really went to Howard's head - his comments about Obama was evidence of that.

Yeah, I'd agree with that Fractelle. If I'd known how far he was going to go on the unions, I would have been far less enthusiastic about his actions on the wharfies.

Oh and I should clarify my earlier post 'I've never belonged to my 'profession's' union.'

Get this right, right. You think you're right, right? Well you're wrong right.
Not only are you so completely wrong right, but I doubt right, that you would even know the difference between right and wrong;- right?

Given that most all of your posts right, are wrong;-you demonstrate in each and every one the clear incapacity to distinguish wrong from right right, and indeed right from wrong right.

Right right?

_________________________________

Because if you WERE able, you would have realized that I have a scathing contempt for the Howard Regime, and that Regimes increasing megalomania.

And it will be a cold day in hell before I will ever want to see him and his guns for hire back in power.

I thought I had made that VERY clear.

Get it right right!