i read a lot about her and wow...pauline sure gives sarah a real run for the money...

The blow-dryer story has long ago been debunked by people who were there; it
was a silly Murdoch beatup.

He was very close to signing off on a deal with the mining companies - this is
according to Twiggy Forrest, who should know.

He made a big mistake in dropping the CPRS, but that was on the advice of
Gillard and Swan, who were taking their orders from Arbib and Bitar. I think
he should have gone to a double dissolution, but that's just me, and I'm nobody.
And Gillard again caved in to political pressure from the pokie industry and
backed away from her agreement with Wilkie. The backdown was made worse
by the fact that Wilkie's scheme was for lowering the maximum bets that could be made, which most experts agree is the way to go, while Gillard substituted the lumsy and unworkable mandatory pre-commitment, which had little support from people involved directly in dealing with problem gamblers. She has also weakened in the face of pressure from the mining companies, and the tax rate as currently proposed will barely cover the compensation payments promised. Her tax is less tan Rudd was holding out for and was close to getting.

As leader of the government at the time, Rudd can take credit for seeing us through the GFC. The BER school building campaign was 97% successful to date; the insulation scheme less so, because it was rushed, and that is the fault of Rudd. Blame him for that, although Peter Garrett had to take the fall. Rudd was at least smart enough to see that keeping the economy in surplus was less important than stimulating the economy, but Gillard, bowing this time to pressure from Abbott & Co., is giving preference to bringing the budget into surplus again, when in truth, more stimulation is still needed. The mining companies and big industrials are doing fine, thank you, but the rest of the community is suffering.

Rudd definitely had problems with the public service because of his demands, and with his own staff because he simply wore them out. Those things would have to change. Whether that's possible is something we wouldn't know until it happens.

Labor has a real dilemma - Gillard is the better parliamentary performer, but she
is disliked and mistrusted by a majority of the electorate, and for this her own poor political judgment and inability to communicate are largely to blame. She has the dubious honour of being the first politician in our history to knife her leader in the back to get the top job, and that is part of her own poor judgment. It was going to come to her in time anyway. Just like Malcolm Fraser, who did a dirty deal to grab power before his time,
she has never been able to get past it in the public mind, no matter how much she might
achieve otherwise.

There can be no doubt that Tony Abbott would win the next election even though the majority of the electorate doesn't like him either, and he may well not have a sound working majority. If she can't score even against Abbott, that says a lot about her unpopularity, because many conservatives don't really like him either. Rudd in turn is disliked by the factions who rule the caucus, and by many of his colleagues, but he can win elections.

The best scenario I can see is that Rudd will get his old job back, Abbott's figures will nosedive as a result, and the Coalition will dump Abbott and replace him again with Turnbull. Then people on both sides of the spectrum will vote for Turnbull, and we can all go about our business as normal.

but I'm probably looking at it partly from a female perspective. I have followed Julia's career from when she took her seat of Lalor when Barry Jones left parliament. She has always been an outstanding parliamentarian and I knew she was going places.

I dont think Rudd would have won the 2010 election. There was discussion at the time about putting it off for as long as possible because the polls were so bad. I'm sure Julia didn't initiate the idea of ousting Rudd all on her own, and if she hadn't taken on Kevin, then somebody else probably would have. I was talking to an ex member of his caucus only a few hours ago and this person reiterated what has been common knowledge about him for a long time. Mainly concerning is nasty disposition. He might be a good campaigner, but I can see a slime-ball on the inside.

I dont think he could change his ways and I couldn't support him in an election campaign. He has put his ambitions well ahead of the party. If he did what was good for the party he wouldn't have sabotaged the election campaign and he wouldn't have white-anted the government.

It may be a better outcome if Malcolm Turnbull was PM and not Tony Abbott, but it wouldn't be a good outcome.

The biggest mistake the party has made in the last 10 years, is voting Rudd as leader of the party. With the "Your rights at work" campaign in 2007, the proverbial drover's dog would have won.

I have refrained from posting til now on this subject,BUT hey here we go.
Julia Gillard was elelcted by a 49% to 50% minority Government.She was put in there by the Australian Greens & Independants.She as far as I and many of my friends are concerned is doing a good jopb with what she has got and what she is able to do.
Mt Tony 'Mr.Negative' Abbott on the other hand has never been liked since day one.He had been very spiteful since the Independants and also the Greens agreed to put the Labor Party into office,which thank god for many of us in rural NSW happened.
Tony Abbott has been bitter since day one and he will never change.Yony Abbott has been like a little boy who has had his favoutrite toy taken from him and he has been putin a corner for being a 'naughty' boy.
Which brings me back to the Labor Party...Julia Gillard introduced a Carbon Tax,she also renigged on a pokies Tax,she has also introduced a reform for Medicare and she is also introcuing other reforms as well.
What did Tony Abbott do,whingw,whingw,whinge all the way to the bank.
People forget that he was the Health Minister in the previous Howard Government and stopped FREE dental care for those who are lower wages and pernsioners,which has now been introduced by the Labor Government,Mr.Howard stated in 1999 that we would NEVER,NEVER have a GST under his watch anmd what happened in 2000 we got a 10% GST,Mr.Howard stated that we would have low interst rates under his government and what happened,interest rates went up and up as well as many commodoties.As far as infrastructure what did the Howard government give us STUFF ALL.What reforms did we get STUFF ALL.
Its is all a beat up by the MEDIA,due to the fact that News Limited is owned by Murdock Group and cant stand the Labor Party,The mining Magnates also cant stand the Labor Party and all because of the mining tax,The packers also own media and also TV and cant stand the Labor Party and all in all The Australian Labor Party under Julia Gillard is doing a great job with what she has got.

Julia Gillard could see the writing on the wall with Kevn Rudd.Australia was going nowhere excepting that Kevin Rudd was linging his pocket.
If and when Julia Gillard calls for a Caucus Spill,then Kevin Rudd would lose,he would be either sacked as Foreign minister and another Foreign Minister given the job,BUT who could do the job,no-one.
Rudd kept us above board with the GFC,BUT he wouldnt be able to control a Minority Government and put up with all the CRAP that the Abbott oposition is slinging at the present Labor Government.
I believe that this whol;e BALLS UP is as a result of the NEWS MEDIA and ELECTRONIC MEDIA beating up the Labor Goverbnment and trying desperately to get Julia Gillard to call an early elelction and then the Australian public having the wool pul;led over ehtier eyes and having Tony Abbott as PM,which would take us back to the dark ages again.

I say leave the Government to do what they are doing and that the Daily telelgraph and other Murdock owned papers go away and leave them alone.
It is a commonly known fact that one will not get a job with Murdock newspapers if you are a supporter of the Labor Party

In closing Julia Gillard is doing a great job with what she has got,whio has brought in some tough reformes and its time that the Australian public,the Liberal Party and the News media both elelctronic and medai print,realised that she is there and there to stay.

I agree with absolutely everything you wrote and dont you feel much better now that you have got all that off your chest.

I actually volunteer at our local radio station (hence the name) and I was listening to one radio station 'shock jock' whose name will remain annonymous and he stated that Julia Gillard is finished,the Labor Government is finished and that they wont be returned at the next elelctiion.This bloke is a BIG contributor to the Liberal Party he has millions of followers and there are people,like my mother who swear by him every morning.I am a volunteer and if I make comments like him about the Liberal Party I am abused up hill and down dale and listeners here in town tell me to 'GET OFF',so how can one wil these days.
I detest the shock jocks that rave on in the Metro areas and also for that matter in the arvos as well.
Do I name them,I had better not,BUT my comment on the radio every afternoon after one of these segmentas,is'IF you can do better,then get off your FAT ARSES and get up here to YOUR community radio station and show us all how good you are,otherwise keep your trap shut and stop insulting the messenger' I can tell you one thing,there hasnt been one taker in 4 years.
It annoys me that these 'shock jocks' can say these things and get away with it,BUT fellows like me get their head bitten off just because I dare to have a go at the Liberal Party.
I have been a member of the ALP for 20 years,I am proud to be a menber and until some one starts giving me a million bucks a year I will continue to make my mark on the air wavers.
Just for interest sake,we have about 1000 locals that tune into our Community radio station each day,BUT there are 2.500 on the internet in the mornings from around the world,3000 in the afternoons,for myself and 2568 on Sunday nights for our Sunday bloke,so we must be doing something right.
OH how I hate the mud slingers from the Liberal Government.............They have got the SH*TS for not being elected back in 2010 and they are making Julia Gillards job so damn hard.
Just look at the Qld state election,The bloke Campbell Newman,dosent even have a seat and he ias trying to beciome the Premier...I know who I would be votong for and it wouldnt be him.
Got that off my chest,now a word from your sponsors....heheheehehe

atm us true believers are feeling the epitome of frustration. You talk about the shock jocks and one wouldn't need to be Einstein to know that you're talking about Jones, Hadley and company. You also mentioned about "their" airwaves. Actually its not their airwaves, they belong to the people. You may know who to put in an official complaint to. If you could supply that info, I would be happy to send them a complaining email. It may not help, but it might make me feel a bit better.

I have never known a government which has been up against so much adversity. They have Rudd trying to undermine them from within. They are up against a negative and vicious bunch of gutter snipes otherwise known as the opposition. They are up against the most anti Labor media that I can ever recall (and that includes the ABC). Also, they are up against the extreme shock jocks that organised the rallies outside parliament house, with Tony Abbott fronting them with vile posters of Julia Gillard in the background.

What kind of a country do we live in. We have AAA rating in every department. The population was hardly effected by the GFC because of the stimulus package. Our unemployment figures are the envy of the world. The interest rates have been consistently low and we can afford to get sick because we have the best health system in the world. Unfortunately if you tell the population often enough that they are doing it tough, they start to believe it, even though they're living in their mcmansions and driving around in 4wheel drives. If you tell them that this Labor government is the worst one in history, they believe it, while they're taking advantage of all the good policies that have come out of it.

In a perverse kind of way, I'm kind of looking forward to Tony Abbott and his cronies taking over so the dumbarses out there will realise just how good they had it under Labor.

Keep up the good work on the radio and keep trying to get our message across.

Well I hope that New Limited,the Murdock 'faceless Men' the Packer Organization and ALL the BLOODY MEDIA are happy.Kevin Rudd has resigned and as I am unable to commense a new post yet,well I am doing the next best thig.
The MEDIA are a bunch of toothless WHIMPS,the Liberal party are the same and so are the Murdocks and the Packers.Thanks to all these little 'backstabbers' we now have NO Foreign Minister.
Gee I now hope that Malcolm Turnbull challenges Tony Mr.Negative' Abbott and throws that little weasel out the door.......
Now Mr.Laws,Jones & Mitchell,what are you going to say in your opening comments today.You 'bastards' get paid for your comments and what to I get,an earful of abuse from Liberal idiots who dont know any better.
To the Liberal Party,you are a bunch of jealous little bastards who havent got a deceint bone in your back and you are as bad as the faceless men in the media.
To the TV and I cant name them as I can get into trouble,BUT they know who they are,dont they Mr.Speers & Co,you have got your wish and hey,now you can crawl back into yoursehell and find something else to report on.
To all the print media....now that you have more time on your hands,go find something else to whinge about......
Boy I am heated up about this and its all because the preint media and the shock jocks and also the TV idiaots have killed of a member of the Labor Party