‘sorry I couldn’t resist the wordplay.

It is so rare that I feel any of John Howard’s actions are defensible that I think I should take the opportunity when it arises. While I do not agree with Howard’s assessment of Barack Obama, I will defend to the forum his right to say it. I wonder how this issue runs generally with left-wing liberals who are generally against Howard’s Straussian methodology but generally for free speech?

Ausralians are good at dishing it up to the Americans. Are we good at taking back the flack from their response? So for it has been diplomatic from the American side. Obama is quite relaxed about it. He has that clean cut JFK smile. John Howard on the other hand is developing another stomach ulcer.

They say when John Howard gets nervous, he gets bombatious. He starts lashing out, or stuttering. He has every reason to be nervous at the moment. He backed a loser, and placing himself so close to W Bush, the domino snowball effect go will roll over him, right down his party.

No one likes a loser. He is already behaving like a loser. The best is yet to come. Watch Peter Costello. He is building up like a Vulcanoe ready to explode. It will be a spectacular disaster. I can't wait.

I agree that John Howard has lost it. He has hung on too long, and will go out on a downer as most politicians who just can't give up the power do.

He is even starting to make nicey-nicey comments about Dawood/Hicks just because he thinks there might be votes in it. That alone shows how low he has sunk.

There is a very good chance that the left-wingers who infest this site will have to find something else to whine about after the next election. That nice Mr. Rudd will surely do no wrong.

Sure he has the right to do it. Just like he has the right to sit on his arse all day drinking beer. That doesn't mean it's a good idea for our PM to do it, or that we shouldn't be allowed to criticise him for it. Free speech is for the lunatic on the street corner ranting conspiracy theories. We should be able to expect more from our PM and if free speech is all Johnny can come up with to defend what he says it's time to put him out on that street corner where he belongs.

Is Howard losing his touch?

http://ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1171239408

Posted by Leigh, Thursday, 15 February 2007 10:54:03 AM
"the left-wingers who infest this site will have to find something else to whine about after the next election. That nice Mr. Rudd will surely do no wrong."

As one of the infesting lefties, I am more disappointed in Labor than Liberal. At least Howard is obviously on the side of big business. Rudd is a right-hander claiming to be a southpaw. At the next election we look like having a choice between 2 god bothering hypocrites varying only in degree. There is no significant left-wing in Australian politics anymore there is only one right wing slightly more left than the other right wing and as the old Chinese proverb goes, 'bird with 2 right wings doesnt fly far.'

"So for it has been diplomatic from the American side." Just goes to show that they really dont care that much about what we do. We are just the occasionally annoying, sometimes cute baby brother, as are as they are concerned. Unless our pollies come out with outright anti-amercian rhetoric, the the response from the US will almost certainly be a paternalistic smile. Of course Obama doesnt care about the comment - other amercians dont, and it wont affect his election chances one jot.