Rudd Rattling Howard
John Howard is rattled.
I can’t ever remember having seen him in such a state at any point over the past ten years.
With the opposition leader Kevin Rudd polling a phenomenal 65% as preferred PM - a popularity not seen in over 35 years in an opposition leader and Howard & Co bereft of ideas, “Honest John” it would seem, is somewhat worried.
It cannot be denied that Howard has, since his resurrection, the infamous Lazarus with a triple bypass, been a consummate politician. He has been a master of wedge politics. He has had an uncanny ability to read and measure the feelings of the populace - and unashamedly use them no matter how deplorable they may be. He has ruled over his own party room with a control afforded no other in the history of this country. Such has been the man’s determination that “Mr 18%” - once paraded on the front page of The Bulletin under the heading “Why does this man bother?” has consistently dominated his opponents during his time in office.
Times to be changing however.
Howard has never before appeared as rattled as he does now.
The people are hungry for change and are thoroughly sick of the hubris that this government has been foisting upon it for far too long now.
It is this hubris, combined with the realisation of the hunger of the people for fresh ideas and a less mean spirited environment in which to live that is driving Howard to make the mistakes that are so uncharacteristic of him.
His dreadful arrogance in attempting to lecture an American presidential candidate was a terrible error of judgement and one that will be difficult for him to escape from.
We must remember that at the last election Howard took Latham to task for “jeopardising” the US alliance with his anti-Bush rhetoric. Come 2008, it is entirely possible that the Yanks will have a Democrat president. A president who may well resent Howards implication that the Democrats are the preferred party of Islamic terrorists.
Labor leader Kevin Rudd, in one of the most eloquent speeches to parliament that I have heard, spells it out much more succinctly than I could hope to.
The videos total twenty minutes but are well worth a viewing:
Part I
Part II
Part III
Technorati Tags: Rudd, Howard, Obama, Barack Obama, John Howard, Kevin Rudd, USA, PM blasts Obama, Iraq, Hubris, Osama, Terrorists, Democrats, 2008
