It's a fascinating confrontation.
On the one hand we have Rudd, a superb campaigner who ate Howard's lunch, but who turned out to be quite a poor Parliamentary leader and manager.
Then we have Gillard, who I think even her worst enemies would admit, has got things done under extremely difficult circumstances and has shown herself to be a competent leader and manager.
Unfortunatly, Gillard has been quite hopeless at campaigning and so has failed to sell the electorate on her achievements.
Bottom line, Gillard and Rudd have two different skill sets but a successful PM needs both skill sets, which has left me concluding that neither of them can do the job at the level needed.
But I'd add two riders to that comment.
First, either Gillard or Rudd on their worst days, would be vastly superior to Abbott who has nothing to offer other than warmed over US Republican failed ideologies.
And second, I just watched Gillard's press conference in response to Rudd's earlier conference. It certainly was a different, more direct and convincing Julia.
If she is successful and goes after Abbott the way she went after Rudd this afternoon, and if she's given a year and a half before an election, maybe, just maybe, she could pull this thing off.
Because, when you get past Abbott's banal negativity, Gillard's claim that she has a track record of achievement under the most difficult of circumstances, is a valid one.
Anthony
http://www.observationpoint.com.au

Anthonyve I can't see a single thing that Julia has done, other that is than take orders from Bob Brown.

If you're happy with her performance you must be a green voter.

Hi Hasbeen,
I can do no more than to restate part of an earlier post of mine

Economy - one of the best performing in the developed world- tick
Public debt - one of the lowest in the developed world - tick
Unemployment - among the lowest in the developed world - tick
Number of bills passed, (a measure of how well the government is performing from a legislative standpoint) - higher than at any time under Howard - tick. And this with a minority government, quite remarkabe.
Got the mining tax through, which goes some way to countering the two speed economy - tick.
If one stops drinking the Abbott/media Koolaid for a moment, and look at the facts, this government has done at least as well as any government in memory.
There is much to legitimately criticize it for, e.g. It couldn't sell cold drinks in the middle of the sahara desert, and it does seem to have a death wish, but as a performing government, its record is very good, going by measurable results

And I would add this: I would vote Green in a heartbeat before I would vote for Abbott.
I do not agree with all Green policies, maybe not even most, but I respect the Greens for one thing. They are not driven by the poll-of-the-day. They have a stated set of core values and every position they take is consistent with those values.
Integriy - something which Abbott has not an iota of - is worth something.
Anthony
http://www.observationpoint.com.au

Ant,

Much of what Juliar has passed are policies that she promised she wouldn't, and mostly consist of new taxes.

Labor's economic performance is mediocre at best with atrocious levels of waste, and bungling.

I believe that Rudd has saved his major torpedos to fire into Juliar at the last moment. However, that she was firmly against the ETS is a good start.

Just to help you see the wood that you don't appear to find in the trees.

The economy is all previous work, & Browns laws she has passed, carbon tax & mining tax, will soon fix all that.

Unemployment, only low by ABS figures & they are under considerable doubt. True un/under employment is about 10%, just like the US.

Yes heaps of bills passed. Bob had a big list of economy destroying bills he demanded passes, if she wanted the lodge. She wanted that so much she was drooling.

I had assumed you did vote green, you are so misguided in your ideas, they would have to appeal to you. You had better vote for them next time, with the number of voters they are loosing, they just may jump off a cliff, after the next election.

Ah Hasbeen,
You seem like a lovely fella.
Pity you know as little about history as you do about economics.
But keep trying.
Cheers,
Anthony
http://www.observationpoint.com.au