According to a new book, Bobby and Jackie Kennedy were like two high school kids who, in front of the entire Camelot court, couldn’t keep their hands off of each other, writes Michael Wolff.
Politicians behaving badly
Ten political scandal survivors
Will he go? Won’t he go? As Govenor Sanford’s political future hangs in the balance, 10 politicians who survived a public airing of their dirty laundry, writes Daniel Finkelstein.
Pollies gone mild: the John Edwards sex tape
A former aide of 2004 Democratic VP candidate John Edwards is alleging he made a sex tape with his former mistress. Edwards’ wife has hit back at the staffer, saying he stole her son’s baseball cards. Riiight.
Republican governor’s Latin loving makes for a sexy story
On Tuesday, US media started to bubble with the story that the Republican governor of South Carolina, Mark Sanford, had gone missing. Just a wacky little yarn, we thought. And then…
Guy Rundle: The Deliverance of Mark Sanford
South Carolina governor Mark Sanford, missing for five days, has just confessed that he has spent the whole time with a mistress. No no stay here, it gets better. Much better.
Preferential treatment for pollies’ mates? Happens every day
I’ll let the non-public servants amongst you into a dirty secret. Government backbenchers and mates of the Government get preferential treatment from bureaucrats, at the request of Ministers.
The rehabilitation of Eliot Spitzer
“My obituary’s written”. So says Spitzer, disgraced ex-governor of New York, whose involvement in a prostitution ring became the biggest political sex scandal since Bill and Monica.
Defence Minister Fitzgibbon’s gone
The beleaguered Defence minister is gone (read the back story here). Who will replace him?
The first rule of Coalition Fight Club
Alby Schultz Vs. Chris Pearce — Annabel Crabb is ringside with a blow-by-blow account of the action.
Coalition ‘punch-up’: a regrettable incident
The Coalition’s discipline, which held more or less solid for the eleven years of the Howard Government, has never really recovered from the election defeat. As this morning it showed.
How Silvio Berlusconi denigrates politics
The ageing Lothario may find it amusing, or even perhaps daring, to act the playboy, boasting of his conquests and humiliating his wife. But politicians must have standards, says The Times editorial.
Will members of parliament please grow up?
Our parliamentarians only made it one week into a four-weeks-out-of-five extended session before collectively losing the plot yesterday.
Props in parliament — a short history
Julie Bishop, Turnbull’s deputy, was on the ABC Friday morning claiming it was naughty of Rudd to use props and it was something the saintly John Howard never did. Rob Chalmers says otherwise.
Parliamentary sin-bin: who makes the Tuckey hall of fame?
In what’s shaping up as a fascinating race between youth and experience, Peter Dutton and Wilson Tuckey share the lead for the most number of times booted out of the House of Representatives Chamber.
Scamalot — England’s own watergate
Jon Stewart mocks the English over the expenses scandal, focusing in particular on the MP who had his moat cleaned.
Italian judges: lawyer guilty of lying to protect Berlusconi
Premier Silvio Berlusconi says he will respond to an Italian judicial panel’s determination that a British lawyer lied in court to protect him in exchange for $600,000. The three-judge panel released a 400-page document laying out its reasons for finding British lawyer David Mills guilty of corruption.
British parliament’s “darkest day”: MPs suspended
Britain’s widening MP expenses scandal has really hit home. Yesterday was the grimmest time that most could remember, with many still fearful about future disclosures, writes Philip Webster.
Snout of order — The Sun enjoys MP expenses scandal
The Sun has enjoyed rolling around in the MP expenses scandal.
Horse manure: Tories’ expenses revealed
Senior Tory MPs face the sack over their high expense accounts, which include new swimming pools, maintenance of a moat and helipad, chandeliers being hung and manure for their garden.
Political snippets: Today’s Fable: Kevin Rudd and the unusable hairdryer
The Prime Minister’s hair, illegal cigarette salesmen, paintball, tourism doing rather nicely thank you very much and Joanna Lumley gives Gordon Brown the what for.
Kevin denies alleged hairdryer hissy-fit
Reports have emerged that Kevin Rudd, who got stuck into an RAAF flight attendant over the food on a flight, reportedly became agitated when Diggers couldn’t locate a hairdryer for a photo op. The livid PM rejects the claim.
