Day 16- Spies like us

This morning's leak? Not so much a direct line from the Labor rabble, but from News, who claim that the original poodle Alexander 'Upper' Downer fed lines to Rudd way back when, knowing that Rudd would leak and therefore damage his party from the inside. Mark Latham wouldn't be surprised. Also in News, Latham was said to have filed a five word column on Rudd. I shall not re-pre-print it here, but the content won't surprise. 

So Rudd, for all his flaws, is on his back in hospital, from where he has issued a denial. How does this one play? Does sympathy get a look in shortly? And if so, how does that play for Gillard?

On Insiders Piers Ackermann makes many mentions of Gillard's white jackets, and therefore her obvious desire to be seen as clean and virginal, unsullied by the blood on her hands. Not to mention her partner's drink driving history- the public has a right to know! David Marr counters with lovely snarky irony that reassures his base and further alienates Ackermann's, so everything is as-per-program. On twitter, Annabel Crabb writes 'what is Piers talking about?' It's a good question, but Daily Tele readers don't care about that, now do they?


There is discussion about how Labor needs a circuit-breaker, one provided by, say, a campaign launch. But the Labor launch will be in the last week of the campaign. This could be a major strategic bungle. The enough rope strategy isn't working on Abbott, who has been hugely restrained.

Abbott got infront of Laurie Oakes on the Weekend Today program. Must have been tough for the walrus to play second fiddle, but he was restrained also. Oakes on Tony, on message together. The walrus grilled Abbott on being a weathervane, and Tony offered his mini mantras in response. Abbott recived praise for staying on message. He also was handed this:

LO: In the notorious 7: 30 Report interview, with Kerry O'Brien, you said in the heat of discussion... I can't read my writing. But you said, - no "but in the heat of discussion You go a little bit further than you would if it was absolutely calm, considered, prepared, scripted." Now, that's an exact quote. A lot of people leapt on that as questioning your truthfulness. I was more concerned what it said about you, the admission that in the heat of the moment, you go further than you should. Is that a good quality for a Prime Minister?
TA: It's something that has got to be kept under the best possible control Laurie, and that's something that obviously I'm very, very determined to do.

See? He's keeping his impulses, his tory tourettes, under control. Almost halfway there Tones- keep this up and you can explode all over the nation August 22. Like a combo of the fat guy from that Monty Python film and the guy riding the bomb at the end of Dr Strangelove. Messy.