Which is what would happen if the Liberals called a conscience vote on the matter. Agreed to disagree, as it were. Live to fight another day.

Not likely to happen I hear you say?

Not while both sides of the Liberal party think that _this_ is the issue that they can use to seize control.

“We had to destroy the party to save it.”

If Howard is so keen on more troops in Afghanistan, let him lead his kids there. Those poor little buggars in Afghanistan make my heart ache! Haven’t we killed enough already? Funny how nobody mentions numbers. I recall a US General when asked about numbers of dead in Iraq; his response was, ‘we don’t do body counts’. He should’ve added, ‘we don’t do the Geneva Conventions either’?

Fancy not being ‘rushed’ into the seat, and to lose to a woman, my god, what an embarrassment? I laughed my head off! Serves them right!

Methinks the Opposition are still going through the post Howard reconstruction. All those MP and ex ministers still tainted by the Iraq war failure will be dead pscyhological wood still.

Which is why Rudd was mad to appoint Nelson, a serious mistake. Because it could infect Rudd’s own side of politics and amplify his own ambivalent record on the Iraq war as then foreign minister. Nelson a decent bloke? Get real. Really the clean slate provided by the ALP on that war is all down to Simon Crean which is why the latter rides high as ex leader trade minister today - the tribe are surely grateful Creany guessed/exercised conscience the right way back in 2002/3, and the dividends of that just keep paying off.

I’ve read that Howard still goes into his office and traverses the main news and if he does that like this writer crunching the disjunctions, perusing the opportunities, scoffing at the misconceptions and inexperience etc etc, without the time crushing responsibilities to appease some perverse group process, then he is still very much an influence, something of a player, and a yes a lead weight on a revived Coalition.

Howard led them to a crushing defeat. Now Howard’s leftover swill are killing his Party and the Coalition. It’s hard to feel any sympathy. Praising the ALP for their good fortune seems equally misplaced.

If they’d been re-elected, we probably wouldn’t even be having this discussion. The Opposition are going further down in the polls, and yet they’re too stupid or on a death wish to start behaving like sane, rational human beings with a real commitment to the Australian people, let alone the planet! If I hear one of them speaking about ‘policies’ or the electorate, and how we’re sick of the infighting blah blah or whatever I’ll scream! They don’t give a rat’s ? about any of us! That’s the plain and simple truth!
I hope Rudd does call an election for about August(or the last date for a double dissolution election) and they get well and truly done! They deserve it! Then, they can get rid of Tuckey, Minchin and the like and start again. I personally don’t care! I’m more than happy to have the Greens take their place - any time! Then, we might have a chance of preventing catastrophic climate change for my grand kids and theirs!

Note to self: read what the next few Crikey articles say before commenting on the first one.

No, it doesn’t just mean that. Next year means post-Copenhagen. Delaying a vote until then is at least defensible. But after that all bets are off. The range of options still open will be considerably narrower, and standing in the way of legislation at that point is not a place you’d want to be, politically or in any other sense.

So as I continue to say..ETS is a hoax - a UN tax on the people of the world.

Hang on while I hold me breath waiting for this to eventuate.