Truly is he? in past years he only had to make a speech and his opponents trembled.
Now his polling drops after every appearance and he seems unable to re capture his hold on the public.
Given the polls ,and we can not overlook they remain firmly against him John Howard has indeed lost it.
Is it time for Peter Costello to take over?
Peter has been practicing the removal of his built in sneer and that new found smile besides hurting his face may just see some real use in this election.
In my view Howard is past it.

“Peter has been practicing the removal of his built in sneer and that new found smile besides hurting his face…”

Aaaaaahaahahaha, I like it! It looks like it hurts his face!

YES Howard is past it, despite obvious energy and acuity.

But the really important thing is that the whole political approach is way past its use-by date… and Rudd is just going to continue on with more of the same.

We need a whole new approach: a sustainability party. http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=562

perhaps howard is as good as ever. the labor party has been unable to convince the electorate of the need for change with compelling policy offers, and compounded their 'metooism' with leaders visibly without any credentials save party room seniority or branch stacking facility. howard has never been any good- but good wasn't necessary when labor was visibly pathetic.

finally, the cracks in the 'growth is good' business mentality of the howard government are beginning to make the electorate nervous. i can not imagine why anyone would not understand that finite resources demand population control and ecologically sustainable policies. but ozzies don't pay attention until they are told not to wash the car. when they are told not to water the lawn, not to take long showers, fill the pool with a rock garden, and buy a rain tank, even the dimmest, most self-indulgent civilian is impelled to look around the politicians corral. kevvy is bright, articulate, youngish, and can talk green while having no intention of disturbing the mining industry, or upsetting the nutters in washington. he's a shoo-in. whether he's any substantial improvement on howard is much less clear.

but ozzies don't deserve any better. cows only ever get graziers, not philosopher-kings.

I believe that John Howard is past it. He was past it when Costello tried to take over. Unfortunately, when people are past it, they don't know it, and it was up to the Liberal Party to give JH his marching orders. Does that mean that the Liberal Party is also past it?

I don't know, but the Liberals seem to have overlooked the fact that governments lose, oppositions don't win. It is obvious to all but the most enthusiastic Labor supporter that Kevin Rudd (a mere decade in parliament) and the Labor Party simply cannot win the election. The Government will have to lose.

And, thanks to Howard's refusal to step aside for a fresh leader, it looks very much as though the Government will lose.

I believe that the Coalition Government we have had for a dozen years is the least bad of a very bad bunch, but I think that we will have an inexperienced, ALP Government - unable to handle money (they never could)at the end of this year. All because Howard is past it. He has been downright embrrassing over the last 12 months.

So, all you Laborites can get ready for 4 years of glory (and chaos that we will all have to endure). It will be nice not see you whining about the goverment for a while. After all you have said, you should be very happy with Kevin.

To even think of putting Labor in charge of this nation is too terrible, they are simply juvenile,unready ,unable.
John Howard is a hard worker, Rudd maybe up to the job in another ten years if he can get rid of Labor's ideology, get rid of the lefties, get some common sense.
But not now.

The Prime Minister is not past it. He still has the capacity to run the country and run it extremely well. Unfortunately the media has made up its collective mind that we need a change of government so they are backing Mr Rudd. It is being done subtly but it is being done. Watch the news critically and you will see that Rudd is permitted to criticise every time Howard says something. Rudd is giving his team very little chance to say anything. That way they cannot make any blunders but it indicates that both he and the media distrust the capacity of the ALP team to actually deliver anything.
Rudd himself is far too inexperienced. He needs at least one term in Opposition before he can even contemplate having the experience to run the country - if then. He has, after all, never held a Ministerial portfolio

Unfortunately John Howard is past his use by date, at 68 he does not have the necessary comprehension of what most Australians want, his ideas and ideology are stuck in the 70's.

He inherited an economy that had been modernised by Hawke and Keating and squandered the benefits by playing politics.

Costello, who has been a great treasurer, should have been handed the baton years ago. (I note he never held a ministerial position before he became treasurer).

If you look at the ages of the people who vote for the coalition they will be in opposition eventually and for a very long time.

Howard's personal ambition has eventually overtaken his once great party, but they know he is their best bet because of the paucity of talent in the party.

Sorry John the reduced for quick sale sign is looming large.

John Howard
Is Not past anything. Maybe the media gaints have shifted some loyalty but so what. You people can not be serious about putting Kevin in charge.
It wouldnt even be fair to Kevin.
Times are far too serious to play silly little games. Dont get me wrong I am NOT happy with Howard ovder live Exports and the shameful lack of Animal Welfare in Australia.
BUT We certainly cant put a baby in charge.
I think everybody will find the more mature people in Australia will be concerned enough about the worlds situation to return Howard- or Peter.
They want to feel safe.
Time will tell.
As far as I am concerned the older the wiser the better and Mr Howard
BAN LIVE EXPORTS!

I'm not even going to waste my time arguing with those who still think Howard is a good prime minister . . . he's a lying rodent and the worst political leader to grace our country(okay maybe not the worst leader in terms of our'economy', which as it seems to so many is better than human rights, workers rights, education and health).

But I'd like to comment on Ludwigs comment:
"But the really important thing is that the whole political approach is way past its use-by date… and Rudd is just going to continue on with more of the same."

I couldn't agree more. It's time more people thought outside the square of two-party politics, particularily when both are on more or less the same coin. The question is - how can we make more people aware of the fact that there are, and in fact needs to be, other possibilities? People are so stuck in the labour-liberal, Howard-Rudd ( slash Beazly slash Crean slash whoever they put up next) debate that they can't even imagine something different. The political contenders in the Labour and Liberal parties are not leaders. They both play on the politics of fear and not hope. We need politicians who can inspire, can lead, and can offer hope for a better future.

Because the fact is - if things keep going the way they are now - there will be no future. In order to preserve our planet and our humanity we need a radical shift, in politics, in environmental practice, in the economy, in the distribution of wealth and power. I'm talking revolution.

And it can be pretty isolating to be sitting on this side of the fence -when it seems even the most intellegent and politcally minded and active people in this country still can't get past the notion that the ruling hegemony (be it Howard, or Rudd . . . or Rupert Murdoch or Paul Wolfiwitz) is here to stay.

ana h, there is an alternative to pollie-rule- aristotle called it 'democracy'. the swiss use it, with great success.

unfortunately. democracy requires citizens, not subjects. ozzies are born with a capacity to run their affairs as the swiss do, but it is erased by cultural conditioning. by the time they are old enough to vote, they are unable to imagine participating in democracy. so they talk about politicians and parties, in much the same way as they talk about sports and celebrities- that's why the talk is superficial, because they have no real power to influence national affairs.

i think don horne put it something like this: australians are 3rd rate people, ruled by 2nd rate politicians. local pollies don't have to be much good: they only have 1 or 2 competitors, and no one pays much attention anyway.

but don't be too depressed, we are the lucky country still. however bad it gets, and it's going to get much worse than anything seen before, "she'll be right". compared to anywhere, australia's natural advantages are likely to keep more than half of us alive. keep your eyes open and try to be one of them.

Well we certainly got some different views, I found the one that Rudd is a Baby a laugh.
Robert Hawke remember him? his background in the ACTU did not fit him for the job as much as Rudd's background fits him.
And I think the bit about leftist mates was worth a grin, can I just get this out in public?
Rudd, like me, is no friend of the left, they would agree with both of us.
In both the party and my union movement a difference exists that is nearly as wide at times as the one between Rudd and Howard.
Now other paths other ways in politics, yes even I would like a different way at times.
It is not that Aussies do not care, each time another way is offered it turns out to have clay feet.
See the Democrats, gulp, one nation, greens a true disappointment to many .
Now a belly laugh! can anyone think truly that the Medea has taken Rudd's side?
All views have value but that one is so very wrong!
John Howard is past it has been for 4 years he has ignored the Westminster system of parliamentary accountability.
He neglects his duty in Iraq.
And his worst sin? he has stopped listening to the Australian people.

“Costello, who has been a great treasurer, should have been handed the baton years ago.”

Excuuuse me ruawake, I’ve gotta run outside and pewk!
.

Ahhh, that’s better.

The thought of Costalotello as PM was just toooo much for my lunch to handle!

People are fast waking up to the need to run this country in a very different way to Costello’s narrowly focussed continuous-expansion-based economic model.

With Tim Flannery as Australian of the Year and with critical water issues across the country, the need to STOP EXPANDING everything human is becoming obvious to one and all.

That word ‘growth’, which is so freely bandied around by Costello and his ilk, needs to be confined to the good development component, which includes technological improvements and better practices in all sorts of ways. The expansionist aspects of growth, especially an ever-increasing population, need to be considered separately, instead of just being lumped in under the same woolly word.

It is a crying shame that Rudd hasn’t embraced this sustainability imperative much more strongly. I reckon he’d gain overwhelming support if he did. But unfortunately it now appears as though he won’t need to in order to win.

This is very unfortunate because it will allow Labor when they win to basically continue with the same growthist antisustainablilyist agenda as that of Howard and Costello.

Its not Howard thats past it, it all his one time supporters here in OLO.

How boring to see them recycling themselves here as small 'l' liberals when for so long they loved nothing more than to support Howard's Right wing declarations and policies.

What a bunch of losers!

Howard may be wearing a little thin, but remove him from the leadership and you will be faced with the problems that the ALP has had since they last held power = no credible leader. Costello is assumed to be the natural successor, but people, consider that someone that is a good treasurer does not necessarily make a good leader. Costello's opposite is Simon Crean, who would not make a good leader for very similar reasons.

So the coalition has faced up to the fact that without Howard they would be guaranteed to lose at the election, and have kept him on.

Rudd, well I remember him appearing on the scene and said to myself at the time, that if the ALP have got a hope in Hades of winning, he'll be at the helm. They certainly havent put up a viable alternative. He may be comparatively young, but he also seems to be significantly cleverer than his colleagues - thats a bonus when you want to run the country!

Rudd will appeal to those traditional Labor voters who make enough money to be classed as the middle-class, and he will also appeal to more moderate Liberal/national voters, given that he is not hard-line Left. This is what is likely to land him in the top job, more than anything else.

The interesting thing will be this years Budget, due in just a couple of weeks. Will Costello hand out tax-cuts, or will he spend more to fund election promises?

Is Howard past it?

Don't be so silly Belly. That's like saying the Osmonds and safari suits are out.

Why, just this morning I heard on the crystal set that he's still looking forward to yesterday and has an optimistic view of history.

Xenophobia is the new black, doncha know. Get with the hip and groovy Belly.

Howard is past it see his bit about the economy being more important than the environment?
Surely they are linked until death?
One day China will hit its reality bump in the road and we will hit it too.
The flow of taxes will stop and jobs will go in reverse, then we will all talk about John Howard's miss use of the good times.
By then John will be a hen pecked what ever beaten prime ministers become.
In times past poor direction and leadership from the ALP was Howard's best helper now its reversed.
Some one mentioned the worst leader we never had Simon Crean, I can only think of one use for the bloke ,as door stop for the party room.

This thread is a bit like John Howard, it has run out of puff.
If his wife lets him John can spend more time in America with George and join us in wondering how he ever got so close to him or why?
Needs to be quick because like Howard Bush is no longer heard much without the areee gees why did he say that behind his back.
Johny even I would not have believed you could become so boring just 4 years ago.
And another 4? how many before you hand over to the King of sneer? 3 months?
By By Johny Good By.

Belly Ask Yourself this. Who is going to be paying for Union members fees If labour is Elected?
Ah but you didnt know there is 'no restriction" on who they can ask to chip into the boys club.
You are all going on about the Ir Laws but not one of you have bothered to give a thought towards people who get ripped off by staff .

I think if you look you will find that Howard has said there are some cases that have been drawn to his attention that he would amend.

I am just wondering what more you want?

I mean I respectfully submitt to you we need to consider the men and women whom have provided us with work also.

How would you like to be told for example that you could not sack somebody who had just stollen from the till?

How would you like to be told you had to catch them three times.

If I employ a person I want the right to have direct working arrangments with them.

There is a skill shortage in Australia Belly and I can assure you most people treat their staff well.

Sure there will always be the people who do the wrong thing and we need laws to protect that I agree.
However look before you leap.
They have left the door open for us to be forced to top up their union funds.


Did you know that? Have you taken a close look?

I am certainly not happy with the Government especially the Nationals pushing their cruel Live Exports etc- However I think the change in law was required.

I know first hand how hard it is to get rid of a disruptive staff member.

This country is made up of small business belly.
Just check out the fact that the Australian people could be made to chip into the union kitty.
Its been left wide open Belly.
Why is that do you think?
Thats not playing fair and thats 'before' you get your wish.

Careful What You Wish for Belly.