Comments on: Howard vs. Rudd – Polling Deathmatch.

By: cyclosarin

cyclosarin — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:34:13 +0000

I can’t believe you wrote all of that without mentioning Rudd’s satisfaction numbers went up at the precise time he promised to give everyone a cheque for $1000. Howard meantime was making decisions he knew not everyone would like. Even the ALPs approach to the pulp mill has been soft.

You don’t really think Rudd’s popularity is comparable to Howard’s on any meaningful measure other than a failure to make real (controversial) decisions, do you?

By: David Richards

David Richards — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 07:40:36 +0000

Or maybe it’s because the two parties are so alike that they really are interchangeable.. and it just depends on the boredom factor.

By: Possum

Possum — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 04:26:58 +0000

It’s a good point El Nino – back in 1996/7 most of the issues of the time were pretty polarising in nature – Native Title, gun laws, reconciliation, the GST, the waterfront etc with One Nation hanging around lighting fires as well.

Today, despite a financial crisis – it all seems pretty calm.

By: El Nino

El Nino — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 04:18:36 +0000

There seems to be a sub-plot here with rising satisfaction for both the government and the opposition. Have we become a little less cynical about our politicians? Perhaps the complex issues of our time – global financial crisis and climate change – illustrates the necessity of managerial politics. And maybe our current crop are slightly more honest about being managers rather than ideologues.

By: Cuppa

Cuppa — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 03:31:25 +0000

I wonder if Howard’s history pre-PM had anything to do with how he was perceived (approval ratings) once he got the top job?

Previously in government he’d been Treasurer from 1975-83. Under Treasurer Howard Australia suffered the worst recession since the Great Depression, with unemployment, inflation and interest rates all at double digits simultaneously. He is the only Treasurer in history to have presided over all three indicators in double digits at the same time. Christian Kerr made this point at Crikey on 27 June 2007

http://www.crikey.com.au/Politics/20070627-Why-John-Howard-never-made-the-cover-of-Euromoney.html

As Alan Ramsey noted in Sydney Morning Herald, 9 June 2007:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/a-devil-of-a-time-if-you-look-closely/2007/06/08/1181089330756.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

when he left the Treasury after Labor's victory under Bob Hawke in March 1983, all of the key economic indicators would be much worse than when he arrived more than five years earlier.

It was as Treasurer that his reputation for dishonesty started to grow. The famous “fistful of dollars” tax cuts promise at the 1977 election was followed by two tax hikes in 1978 and 1979 thanks to the special “income tax levy”.

There’s quite an interesting article on Treasurer Howard’s economic record at The Canberra Times, 9 April 2007:

http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/news/opinion/opinion/howards-record-as-treasurer-questioned/573574.html

By: Howard vs. Rudd - Polling Deathmatch.

Howard vs. Rudd - Polling Deathmatch. — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 03:13:41 +0000

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