Rudd’s manipulation of the media, however, is I believe excessive, cynical and dishonest.
However he could however hardly get away with it without the media’s cooperation.

The ‘4th estate’ is lamentably complicit and poor in this country. This was evidenced recently by the treatment of Rudd’s lamentably poor indiscretion with the ‘leaking’, dishonestly and with conspicuous self-aggrandisement of a version of the supposed contents a telephone call between himself and Bush.

But Australian journalistic standards seem lustrously independent compared to that demonstrated during the recent election in the US.

James, when you and I communicate with various groups, they are usually in different locations - not altogether.
You, like the rest of us ordinary folks, have the luxury of wearing different hats if you choose.
We’re not in the public eye as such. …the PM, however, frequently reaches thousands of different people, en masse, at the one time, through his many TV appearances.
Some of these people would be Defense personnel.
Do you think they wouldn’t notice his silly ‘orstralyanese’ speak?

I know some of the army guys there “didn’t think that he was for real”. But of course they can’t say that publicly.

“Rudd: the devil in climate change hell” : Ian Cohen MLC MEDIA ALERT 16th December 2008 [NSW MP]

Sure it’s the fundis versus the realos of the Green Party but dangerous climate change is like that: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realo

After broadcast emailing the images/video of those 300 year old massive old trees as wide as a house in East Gippsland being logged for woodchips to all federal and nsw parliamentarians last day of parliament, there is no doubt this ALP organisation is “evil” either systemically or deliberately. It’s as if the green movement in aggregate felt permission to say as much over the pathetic 5% emissions target a week later.

You can literally see, hear, and smell the green movement withdrawing Rudd’s “social license”. Just like we did to Keating in 1996.

So now we have shoes being thrown at his effigy in a brilliant piece of street theatre, even acknowledged as such by M Devine and Akerman, while doing their stale climate denial rants.

This is a PM who likes to be liked, in vainglorious Hawke dimensions, and has been soaking up the adulation a good 12 months. But he just got his backside caned on emissions trading scheme as the wimp policy it is, as Hartcher correctly identified in the SMH page 1. Middle road to nowhere. Bob Brown told him to his face the ETS target is a “failure”.

So Gillard whips out the trusty Education Report - she will respond to in 2 months - to buy some time. Rudd rushes off to Afghanistan and trowls on some knock about lingo. He wants them to love him and doesn’t it show. The irony is that a fake is a fake is a fake. He could have said exactly the same things with his Prime Ministerial voice. Everyone can see what it is. The guy was dux of his school, honours degree, Mandarin spearker for Godsake. He sounded totally like a guy trying to be bogan who isn’t.

He’s in trouble. Anyone can hear the neurosis. Before it was just flu. Now it’s in his brain. And this is why - he doesn’t believe in the ALP brand anymore even as he sells it, and he’s doing his best to sublimate the Lathamesque realisation with lame khaki theatre. Poor bastard.

I guess Rudd’s lack of personality draws an interesting parallel with the Australian public’s lack of interest and engagement in politics.

@ Tom: It is clear you’re a greeny, and there is nothing wrong with that. I think you could communicate better and articulate some argument that relates to the article, instead of paraphrasing articles and posting 100000 times (ok 4) about how you hate Rudd and the ALP is evil. If the ALP is evil, politics is evil (and I’m not saying it isn’t)… get over it.

Someone said ‘man does not live by bread alone but every word that comes from the mouth of God’ and in a round about way God’s creation as manifest by the natural environment (including us) is about as close to His words you are ever going to see in this life which makes climate change a religious duty as well as a political job. And Rudd is a religous man we are led to believe. Take note Chris Uhlmann, ex seminarian!

Call me imaginative but it’s sort of like Jed Bartlett having trouble sleeping haunted by deep seated psychological identity issues regarding his cold father. He’s well past that phase now, but what does he replaced it with? The ALP is so riven and fraught it’s no surrogate parent one can remotely be proud of. Botox anyone?

As for claiming Rudd is “void of personality”-what the hell has this got to do with running the country ?. ( and compared to the last PM !!), Intelligence is what we need and the capacity to get things done ( with a hostile Senate.

Who cares how Rudd spoke to the troops in Afghanistan. From watching the vision it appears he was well received.

I am 23 and work in marketing for a Credit Union. The way I talk here is very different to the way I write when communicating to our members, the way I talk to my friends when I’m riding my BMX at the skatepark, the way I talk to dealers of my clothing brand, the way I talk to my mother.

You’re exactly right, Bernard, it’s called effective communication. To be successful in life you need to have a firm grasp of communicating effectively…

Who’s your next political peg coming from? Kerry Ann Kennerly…or how about Koko the Clown?

The silly season is clearly in full swing.

And lay off Malcolm…I spent 40 mins alone chatting with him in the Green Room at Channel 7 in South Melbourne in 1988, and went from disliking his public persona intensely to believing what a lovely bloke he is. You should have heard the howls of indignation I got from my fellow journos when I told them what had happened. Malcolm’s public persona had not been reconstructed at that stage. I’d love to tell the world what he told me about Wilson Tuckey, but of course can’t.