Is he fairdinkum?
Does it matter?
Not in my view do we want our leaders to sound like English gentlemen?
Every leader talks in public to win friends and influence people.
I know Rudd has a well developed love of humor and fun.
He once broke from a speech at a party dinner to wish a Chinese couple celebrating a wedding good fortune, with a grin.
I wounder true is our medea so intent on a story its makes them up?
What do others think of using our own Aussie terms?
Do we still cringe at just being what we are Aussies?
Stone the flaming crows I hope not bloke.

I have no problems with using and hearing Aussie slang, in the right mouths.
Rudd is not the right mouth, he uses our slang as a tourist would, clumsily, and makes a fool of himself thereby. Don’t blame the media for this one, he shoved his own feet in his mouth. I just wish someone would teach him Australian English, because he babbles.
Between PC sensitivity, bureaucratese, and his natural pomposity, he makes a real dog’s breakfast of the simplest sentence. Add to that his weasel instincts as a politician, and what you see is what you get, a Delphic Oracle, who might as well be speaking in ancient Aramaic

I'm with Maximillion, it is not the words themselves but the delivery.

Rudd has a bad habit of trying too hard to sound like someone's chum but he does not quite pull it off. It has the effect of sounding insincere and contrived. Perhaps he is not aware of it, we don't always appear as we would like to in others' eyes.

Much rather he be himself and leave the spinning to the arachnids.

Don't you just cringe, when ever you see him about to do another interview. You wonder what he will say this time to bring the scorn of the world upon us, for electing such a cretin.

Pelican, he sounds just what he is, A smug fool, who is completely insincere.

Did you see the arrogance surface the other day, when he was asked about the selection of the new ministers. Just as well not many kids watch the news. The true KRudd shone through, for just a few seconds. Any kids who saw it, are probably still having nightmares. This bloke is such a cold, & nasty fish, he makes even Keating look warm & cuddly.

Rudd does appear to be trying too hard - cringe worthy.

But Howard made me cringe more - power walking, cricket, smiling with Bush etc.

Therefore on the Cringe-o-meter, Rudd rates lower than Howard.

Whereas Keating never made me cringe, laugh and cry, yes, but never cringe.

Dear Belly,

Did anyone not understand what the PM was saying?
So, what's the big deal? I would prefer he uses
language that at least can be understood rather
than speak in the verbose, hypocritical,
mendacious and ambiguous language of politicians
and their hangers-on.

As Dennis Pryor pointed out in his booklet,
"Political Pryorities," under the title -
"polspeak," - "Its fundamental method is to
express everything so vaguely and densely that
polspeakers can extricate themselves from
difficulties by claiming not to have said what they
did in fact say."

An example, Pryor gives - a Minister is about to make an
unpopular decision and will accordingly leave the
announcement to a public servant (Ministers announce only
good news themselves). A journalist, getting wind of this,
asks the Minister if it is true. The polspeak answer is:

"The decision-making process with regard to this matter is
currently in place. It would be improper for me at this
point in time to pre-empt the eventual outcome as the
result of community consultations, one way or another,
of that ongoing decision and consultative process."

Sounds a bit like Joe Hockey doesn't it?

Give me a PM who's NOT so laid-back, he's practically
fly-blown.