Trust Tip to distort McClelland’s speech beyond recognition:
Mr Costello says sympathy should be going to the families of those who died in the Bali bombings not the people who carried out the attacks.
“I think it was a very strange time for the Labor Party, to come in support of the Bali bombers,” he said.
“Let’s not forget, the Bali bombers killed 88 of our fellow Australian’s.
Let’s have some sympathy for the 88 dead and their families, rather than sympathy for those who cruelly and cold bloodedly decided to kill them for no reason, other than they were Australians.”
The Vice-Captain’s (and other Team Howard members, though not so blatantly) exploitation of a terrorist attack that killed 88 people to score cheap political points against a legitimate policy argument by Robert McClelland is disgusting.
Looks like Rudd is to be interviewed on 7.5, so we’ll see what he says – the preview on ABC’s news bulletin didn’t look too promising.
UPDATE: Rudd wasn’t as bad as I had feared. He managed to clarify Labor’s position to some extent, and he also pulled out some quotes from Dolly that highlight the Government’s own hypocrisy. Red Kerry really tried to bang on about the uncertainty of Labor’s Cabinet portfolios if they win government, and I think this is where Rudd looked weakest. It seems to me that he could have done more to challenge Kerry’s assertion that Team Howard’s composition is locked in – although Rudd attempted to suggest that the post-election Cabinet positions in TH are not locked in, the other question that really highlights the uncertainty is, “Has Peter Costello indicated who will hold Ministerial portfolios when Howard retires during the next term? For that matter, is it clear that Costello will hold the top spot?”
[...] continuing to push the notion that Rudd must clarify who his Ministers will be if Labor is elected. I say again: ask the Libs to have Costello name his Ministry, given it is supposed to be a done deal that he [...]