Some pretty stunning poll result for Labor and Kevin Rudd today in Newspoll published in The Australian. A number of Labor punters are getting very excited and predicting the demise of Howard.

WEE are not so sure. He is a wily old ______. There is still a long way to go to the next election and he’s been down and out for the count before. But most agree he hasn’t been quite this far down and out in his years in office. Perhaps we are really sensing a mood for change among the Australian people, and it would be quite extraordinary that in an economy that is still going strong, issues around human rights, the war in Iraq and workplace relations come into focus as key concerns for the voting public.

The war and human rights have been in focus before and haven’t damaged Howard. It’s really still a waiting game to see if he has credibility left on these issues, or if people are really just sick of the accumulation of mean-spiritedness and untruths over much of these social matters. Perhaps this election won’t be fought on “it’s the economy stupid” but rather over the broad vision of where Australia is heading as a nation in the next twenty years.

Whatever the next few months hold, it is going to get vicious. Howard will not risk the trashing of his legacy without a fight. Or… Costello. Nah, he’s left his run way too late.

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