the consummate politician

one has to admit that despite all his faults (and i reckon there are a LOT of those), little johnny howard is certainly a master of the art of politics. he knows when, and how, to play an issue with the same skill as peter bell plays footy. just as 2001 was the year of the refugee for LJH, when he used the fortuitous event of the tampa rescuing some refugees (or queue-jumpers as those with limited intellect refer to them) to save his skin, it appears that 2007 will go down as the year that he realised there actually were some people living here before 1788.

now, i hate to cast aspersions (nasturtiums?) at the motives of someone who is superficially doing something to help indigenous folk as they need, and deserve, all the help we can provide.. BUT it does seem rather strange that the timing of LJH seeing the light comes just at the darkest point of his reign. of course we should be protecting aboriginal (and all) kids from sexual abuse and neglectful parenting, but why did it take him a decade to work that out? of course there should be recognition of the original australians in the constitution, but linking this to his re-election seems somewhat cynical to me. like i said, i don't like him, but he sure knows how to play the game!