Rudd has failed to answer questions as media have given him a free pass on all issues leading up to the election.
Rudd has claimed he is ready to launch an 'Education Revolution' by giving a tax deduction to parents for buying a laptop each year for each child. He has said nothing about improving school fascilities or, as Mr Howard has done, addressing the needs of the parents.
Rudd has claimed he will improve health care by spending a few billion dollars on more administration. He fails to explain how more public servants will improve the need for more beds, equipment, doctors or nurses.
Rudd has not answered many questions regarding the corrupt praxis of ALP. Or his own poor judgement over Burke, Heiner, Lapdances or media entanglements with favorites such as Sunrise.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Rudd Failing To Answer Questions
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Spurned TV host urges Rudd war
By Samantha Maiden
VETERAN political journalist Barrie Cassidy has urged the media to "declare war" on Kevin Rudd, warning the Opposition Leader is avoiding scrutiny by fighting his campaign on FM radio.
After 34 days of campaigning, Mr Rudd is yet to appear on the ABC's Sunday morning political program Insiders, prompting the program's host to ask whether he is dodging the tough questions.
On Sunday night, the Labor leader will appear on the Ten Network's Rove program after rejecting repeated requests to appear on the station's political program Meet The Press or Insiders.
"To refuse to go on Insiders fits a pattern. There are only two programs that focus exclusively on politics - Insiders and Meet The Press. He hasn't done either in this campaign and he's not going to," Cassidy said yesterday.
"But he will be doing lots of FM radio. One senior journalist, I won't say who, said to me yesterday: 'We all know we have to go to war against Kevin Rudd as soon as the election campaign is over.' Perhaps we should have declared it earlier."
Cassidy, a former press secretary to Bob Hawke when he was Labor prime minister, said he did not believe Mr Rudd's reluctance to appear was based on the programs or personalities.
"The strategy is to avoid as many as possible of the longer, considered interviews that he can," he said. "Compare that to (John) Howard's approach; he will always do those interviews. Perhaps it is a sign of his maturity and Kevin Rudd's lack of experience."
The Nine Network's political editor, Laurie Oakes, disagreed. "I wouldn't think the Sunday interview is lightweight, and he was on Sunday a week ago," he said. "He didn't avoid me."
The host of the ABC's Lateline program, Tony Jones, said Mr Rudd had also fronted for an interview on his program.
"We've done one interview with Kevin Rudd during the campaign. We still hope to interview him again next week. To the best of my knowledge, that will happen," he said.
Mr Rudd's communications director, Walt Secord, who was accused of running similar media strategies in NSW when he worked for then premier Bob Carr, said the Labor leader simply could not agree to every request.
"Yesterday Mr Rudd did the ABC's AM program with Chris Uhlmann, 3AW with Neil Mitchell, John Laws and 6PR - some of the toughest interviewers around," he said.
Paul Christenson, the producer of Alan Jones's program on 2GB, said a standing offer for Mr Rudd to appear on the program had failed to attract the Labor leader.
"I've been in touch with them on a constant basis. Every time you call they tell us, 'We are keen to do it blah, blah, blah', but it never happens," he said.
Figures prepared by Media Monitors reveal Mr Rudd has blitzed top 40-infused FM stations.
His favourite AM station is Sydney's 2UE, where he has been on every host's show at least once - even Steve Price.
"Clearly the FM interviews have been pretty light on the policy questions," said Media Monitors index manager Patrick Baume. "He's got a soft run."
Baa! went the furious journalists
Andrew Bolt
Peter Hartcher of the Sydney Morning Herald gloats that John Howard did not get away with promising rebates for school expenses and other goodies at this week’s campaign launch:
The media rose up as one in indignation at his irresponsibility.
As one? Seeing that Hartcher is talking largely about some Left-leaning Canberra journalists whose collective mindset is notorious, this seems a rather dramatic way of describing the usual baa-ing.
I’m too hard on him? Then note that Hartcher repeats as if profound a misleading Labor boast also retailed by Michelle Grattan and Paul Kelly and (insert name here):
Rudd went on to make new spending commitments of a net $2.3 billion, only a quarter the size of Howard’s.
Given that Rudd’s promises to date include the $34 billion tax and spend package he announced in week one of the campaign, this seems a very arbitrary and misleading way to judge Rudd’s alleged parsimony.
Spin, spin, spin.
Even more computers won’t make better teachers
Andrew Bolt
The Australian gets it right on Labor’s education flim-flam:
(A)fter studying the detail of Labor’s plan it is difficult not to believe Mr Rudd’s broadband and laptop revolution has been primarily calculated to make the Prime Minister appear old-fashioned by comparison. Labor’s plan ignores the fact that OECD figures show that all Australian students already have access to computers at school. In addition, Labor’s broadband rollout will not be completed until 2013, whereas the Government has one already due for completion by 2009. On training and scholarships, Labor is mostly expanding programs that are already in place rather than proposing a new approach. The Australian welcomes Mr Rudd’s promise to put a big emphasis on education but we are having difficulty seeing the revolution…
The big disappointment in Labor’s education revolution is its lack of emphasis on lifting the quality of teaching staff, fixing the national curriculum and making sure parents get better feedback on school performance… A big obstacle is the socialist collective bent of the teacher unions, which remain hostile to any system that links teacher pay to performance outcomes or even different skills sets.
This election win be a chilling tribute to the power of spin over facts.
Rudd thrice denies Labor
Andrew Bolt
Chris Uhlmann tries to break Tony Jones’ record for most repeats of a simple question to Kevin Rudd without getting one straight answer:
First try:
CHRIS UHLMANN: Is (Labor) still a party of the left?
KEVIN RUDD: You know, Chris, the key thing here is just to make sure you get two fundamental principles right. The economy is basic to everything. The key thing is whether through your outlay through budget, you provide opportunity for everybody and not just for some.
Second try:
CHRIS UHLMANN: Is the Labor Party still a party of the left?
KEVIN RUDD: Yeah, but Chris, as an education revolution, there’s an education revolution, we are a party of opportunity for all, not for some, so that every kid, irrespective of what background they come from, is given a first class opportunity in life.
Third try:
CHRIS UHLMANN: On the political spectrum, is the Labor party still a party of the left?
KEVIN RUDD: Well, we’re a part of progressive politics, and progressive politics mean that you just don’t sit back and allow things to happen.
All right, Jones still keeps the record with four attempts to ask Rudd the same question without getting one intelligible answer.
But Uhlmann, who draws level with Kerry O’Brien with three, beats Jones for quality by asking Rudd a perfectly simple question which any honest Labor man should never have had this trouble answering.
Or is Rudd simply incapable of answering any direct question?
Here’s a man who doesn’t know what he stands for, not admitting to what his party stands for, and leading a team that pretends to stand for something else again. I predict tears.
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