Ben Eltham summs up the costings debacle rather well:

"The Coalition's strategy was deceptively simple.
Tony Abbott focused on winning and he shaped every
tactic and bent all the Coalition's resources towards
that end. Where events, policies or colleagues intervened
in a way that might have threatened that victory Abbott
and his leadership team either side-stepped or co-opted
them.

The way the Coalition handled the potentially tricky issue of
policy costings is a good example. While the independent
media obsessed with the opacity of the Coalition's numbers
Abbott and his team stuck to the basics.

They knew that ordinary voters didn't really care about
costings. What they cared about is competence in government.
The key argument to win was precisely that of competence and
stability which Abbott and his team have relentlessly repeated
for years now. In that way they were able to delay their
final costings until 2 days before the election giving Labor
no ammunition to attack it."

Poirot,

You made a slip that you can't recover. You were vexed by the outcome of the election and as psychologists say, in the heat of the moment the real man behind the 'Poirot' nom de plume shone through.

What a silly Old Tin of Fruit you are. The Poirot nom de plume? That is too much LOL

Foxy, "Ben Eltham summs up.."

?! So what?

Dear Poirot,

otb really hasn't the faintest idea what the
heck is really going on.

otb,

No slip at all, "old fruit".

But since you bring up psychiatrists - I wonder what we should make of your beelines to non-issues posted on OLO "by women" so you can let off your faux outrage party sparklers.

...interesting case.

Fascinating to watch as you do it time and time again.

Foxy,

What do we make of the "onthebeach" nom de plume?

Too much time in the sun?

Poirot,

LOL You are a real boy aren't you? Not everyone's idea of a boy, but a boy nonetheless.

Your 'Poirot' tag is too precious.

I see you have developed an echo from another who is most aggrieved by the decision of the electorate. That is democracy.