Four Corners on Federal Election - worth watching

I missed the Four Corners show, last Monday, on the forthcoming election. I went to the ABC website and saw this very fair interview painting a gloomy prospect for the Coalition from the beautiful Laura Tingle who I read in the AFR. I thought George Megalogenis from The Australian was good too though he is not nearly attractive as Laura. .

The main argument from both is simply that the gap in the increased support for Labor over the Coalition has not diminished. The amazingly high approval ratings of John Howard – particularly on economic issues are a central puzzle. The mortgage belt are frightened about interest rates and WorkChoices. Kevin Rudd is imitating John Howard by looking for consensus on issues that Labor would otherwise lose votes on – notice no arguments on Iraq or border protection. Good economic news and high economic growth rates support Labor – because it makes it is safe to change government.

Oh and what a disasterous bull-artist Kevin Rudd is! A glib, mealy-mouthed, electoral success story. Our next PM - Australians, come to your senses!

It was great journalism and incisive reporting from the Four Corners journalists. The ABC did a great job. The show itself worth looking at in full – again high-quality journalism. Great photography and the ingenious use of a sample of 5 marginal voters – though a small sample – covered the issues beautifully.