dennis shanahanThe Australian 16/11/07 "THE fight over who spent more at the respective campaign launches on Monday and Wednesday is a sideshow. A much bigger strategic decision has been taken by Kevin Rudd than the tactic of refusing to match John Howard “dollar for dollar” at the Brisbane launches.".. "Now Rudd has grabbed the tiller and steered the ALP boat confidently towards the treacherous straits between the Scylla and Charybdis of economic management and industrial relations. It is the act of an emboldened and confident leader with faith in himself and his ship." BBI: Dennis runs the line of the Liberal`s superior economic management, which he runs in every column. Joseph Goebbels. No mention of pork barrelling that Howard has just been busted for. "Like Ulysses and Jason, Rudd has taken a bold and risky course. He obviously feels he’ll fare better than the ancient heroes, but he’s venturing into the dangerous waters and strongholds of Howard and Costello." BBI: He is named "comical ali" in Crikey. The bloggers crucify him. Have a look in Favourite Blogs. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... The Australian 9/11/07 "IN an extraordinary display of bravado and confidence, John Howard and Peter Costello yesterday set out their political plan for the rest of the election - jobs, jobs, jobs." "Only a day after the first interest rate rise during an election campaign should have floored the Prime Minister and Treasurer, they gave a two-for-one press conference aimed squarely at Kevin Rudd, making managing the economy the core election issue." BBI: Dennis, as we all know, is an avowed fan of John Howard. He can interpret polls favourably and praise the economic myth of the conservatives, but yesterday he was the one who asked Howard "if interest rate rises aren`t your fault why did you apologise?" Did Howard set him up to ask that? Have Crosby Textor lost it? Anyway, Dennis` column is as usual trying to spin another bad situation into a good one. We think he fails. Some bloggers see it our way in Favourite Blogs. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... The Australian 5/11/07 "THE Howard Government's seat-by-seat strategy to reverse Labor's poll lead in the final half of the election campaign will be built on targeted infrastructure and services spending." BBI: Is that another name for pork-barrelling? Punters in the marginals should remember what has happened over the last 11 years. Howard keeps the money to spend buying votes at election time. Money does not go where it is needed, say in hospitals, but goes where John needs to get votes. "The Coalition intends to try and gather momentum in the last three weeks of the campaign by "offering more" for infrastructure and services on top of the tax cuts, which Labor has adopted." BBI: Ditto our first comment. "Voter commitment in the marginals is also high for the halfway mark of a six-week campaign. " "At a similar stage during the 2004 election campaign, 55 per cent of voters in the marginal seats said the party they nominated was the party they would vote for. " "But last week in the 18 marginals, 65 per cent of voters said they would not change their minds. " "Twenty seven per cent said there was a slight chance they would change their mind and only 7 per cent cent said they were just as likely to vote for another party as the one they had nominated. " BBI: If the polls are right, the punters have seen through him. How can he keep a war chest for election bribes after not spending on needed infrastructure, and claim to be working for the country? The News Limited Galaxy poll also showed that most voters had made up their mind before the campaign began. BBI: Well we have. ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... The Australian 2/11/07 "Kevin Rudd has been saying for weeks that the 2007 election, which shows him cruising to a crushing victory in the national polls, is “a tight election” and will go to the wire. As the Labor leader might say: “Do you know something? I’m "right.” And he is. "The fight in this election and the likely outcome is to be much closer than national poll snapshots suggest. " "Based on calculations by strategists and MPs from both sides, it is possible for Labor to get the magic number of 16 - the minimum net seats gain it needs - but final victory may come down to one or two seats in Western Australia on election night. " BBI: We think (and hope) that Dennis is having a lend of us. Dennis goes through a lot of possibilities then finishes with.. "Country Liberal Party MP Dave Tollner holds the NT seat of Solomon by a little more than 2 per cent and has been a prime target. " "Although some Labor strategists think he will lose, Tollner’s chances seem to have been boosted by the federal Government’s intervention in remote Aboriginal communities. That the Prime Minister didn’t head to Darwin until three weeks into the campaign suggests the Liberal numbers men are saying Tollner is not in real trouble. " "If these likeliest gains go to the ALP, then Rudd will have 16 seats and government on election night, but his fate will hang on WA. Howard’s strength is WA and he has defensively visited the vulnerable Coalition seats of Stirling and Hasluck, and offensively visited the Labor-held seat of Swan. The ALP seat of Cowan is also difficult to judge after the retirement of popular local MP Graham Edwards, so Labor could lose one or two seats in Perth. " "If that happens, the nightmare of the 1969 Don’s Party election could be relived as the late-voting, late-counting West pips Labor at the post after power seemed so tantalisingly close to being in Rudd’s grasp. " ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. The Australian 2/11/07 "THE renewable-energy debate that developed this week is another case of both sides dissembling over similarities and running scare campaigns over differences to manufacture policy contrasts." BBI: This is the gist of Dennis` article. He wants to link Labor with the environmental mess the coalition are in. We couldn`t find one favourable blog on his page about this column. Read some of them in Favourite Blogs. But we`ll put one here that sums up Dennis` work. THE renewable-energy debate that developed this week is another case of both sides dissembling over similarities and running scare campaigns over differences to manufacture policy contrasts. Kenney, Melbourne ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... The Australian 30/10/07 BBI: Dennis has got excited about today`s poll results. "THE latest series of Newspoll results mean a number of things. " "Labor still has a comfortable lead and is favoured to win the election. But there is life in John Howard yet. " "The Coalition needs to concentrate, pick up a point a week, and it could still go to the polls an even-money bet." BBI: Dennis now claims that interest rates are no longer an issue. We don`t think so. This next rise will send a number of people to the wall. He goes on to talk about me-tooism and how anti-union advertising is working. "All of these deductions lead to the conclusion that while the unlosable election is still Rudd’s to lose, a tight election fight is now more likely and the Coalition’s position is not as tenuous as generally believed." BBI: Other newspapers aren`t quite as excited as the Australian and their journos. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... The Australian 26/10/07 BBI: Dennis goes to great lengths to show how Rudd is now in an unlosable position. He compares the situation with John Hewson and his supposed unlosable election, which he lost. "KEVIN Rudd is fighting an unlosable election. His ritualistic comparison of trying to beat the cunning John Howard with climbing Mt Everest is hollow.".. "It was John Hewson who was supposed to be fighting an unlosable election in 1993 against Paul Keating, and he now wears the tag like an albatross around his neck." BBI: He finishes with a touch of sour grapes, we think. "The only downside for Rudd in fighting this unlosable election is if he loses. Given the level of expectations he has raised, there will be no mercy, no second chance and no two-term strategy, nothing but brutal retribution." BBI: You can only hope, Dennis. .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... The Australian 23/10/07 "KEVIN Rudd’s on a roll and Labor’s had a lift. After being knocked sideways by the Coalition’s tax policy, the Labor leader has hit back. " "Voters liked what they saw on the televised leaders’ debate and they were primed by Rudd’s tax package to embrace his economic management. " "The most significant shifts in the Newspoll survey last weekend were for John Howard and Rudd personally. " BBI: He was never knocked sideways by the tax policy, other than to marvel at Howard`s cheek to try and buy voters rather than do something substantial with infrastructure. Shanahan then says voters liked what they saw on the debate, and talks about significant swings in a poll taken the day before the debate. Huh? "Today’s Newspoll cements Rudd’s dominance over Howard as preferred prime minister and, even more importantly, puts him close to the Prime Minister on the economy and national security. " "Yet paradoxes remain in the polling. " "The national polling, even with some decline last week in the published polls, remains at odds with the published polls in marginal seats. " BBI: You hang in there Dennis. ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... The Australian 22/10/07 BBI: As proof that Dennis needs to be in stoogewatch, he has scored the debate pretty much a draw. That wasn`t our thoughts, or indeed the front page of The Herald and other papers. "THE debate has fallen victim to the year-long political campaign." "The real value was to be able to see up close and personal - and at length - the personal qualities of the two leaders under pressure. " "Last night the most valuable insights were the flashes of interchange and personality. " "They reinforced Howard’s well-graven image, for better or worse, and reassured those who feared the Prime Minister would not perform well. Howard came through as a “believer” in his own philosophies on education, industrial relations and reconciliation - like him or not. " BBI: And then he writes this... "Rudd, as a first timer, generally did well, staying on those rehearsed messages, and would have given heart to Labor supporters who feared he was prissy or weak." BBI: Dennis didn`t see the same debate as the rest of us apparently. See Favourite Blogs for more comments re Dennis` column. ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... The Australian 16/10/07 BBI: We`ve been trying to see Shanahan as vaguely objective, but we have given up. He is a Liberal Stooge. Maybe its because he works for Rupert, but we say that journalism should be as unbiased as possible. As we at BBI are. We`re unbiased, as long as Howard is not elected we will be happy. "LABOR is facing a $34 billion challenge from the Coalition and there’s a sense of complete surprise and some trepidation." "In the 2004 election campaign, John Howard hit the road running on interest rates and economic management." "At his tax and welfare launch, Mark Latham - on Wayne Swan’s advice - fatally stumbled when he said a Coalition family payment of $600 a child wasn’t real. " BBI: Just like Piers. Raising the Mark Latham spectre. "Labor’s lack of a policy on tax, the challenge it now faces on whether to accept or reject the Government’s package, and the choice it has of spending money on services or tax cuts have all put Rudd under pressure on the first day." "There’s a long way to go, but it’s a good start for John Howard and Peter Costello. " BBI: A couple of bloggers on Shanahan`s page point out.. Labor’s lack of a policy on tax, the challenge it now faces on whether to accept or reject the Government’s package, and the choice it has of spending money on services or tax cuts have all put Rudd under pressure on the first day. There’s a long way to go, but it’s a good start for John Howard and Peter Costello. (Mat from Perth) BBI: And this.. Dennis - I notice you have nothing to say about John Howard’s failure to know the current BBI: We`re onto you Dennis. No more treating you with kid gloves. And this blogger hits the nail on the head regarding the new Tax cuts. This is just another bracket creep bribe to the electorate. A truly courageous move on the part of Howard and Costello would have been to index bracket creep from the next parliament on, though then they would no longer be replete with funds with which to bribe the electorate to vote for them. As usual the Coalition’s tax cuts have been skewed to reward high income earners rather than the battlers on low to medium incomes. I expect to see more of this in the weeks ahead, especially with childcare, as the Coalition puts into effect “Bronny’s bribe” to allow wealthy working women to pay for their nannies at the taxpayers’ expense. (Victoria, Central Coast) top
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