Rudd…..no gentleman


Wonder how all the Christians who heard Rudd last week are feeling now? Let down? Dissapointed? Don’t care?
How are all the Rudd supporting Bloggers feeling? Will they say….well Howard is more guilty of sinning with his policy on immigration, social reforms etc….
Are they right?

It seems morality is polarised between traditional Christian morality…no sex before marriage etc…..and a new emphasis on active morality…caring for the poor.
Interesting…either way..will this incident be a vote breaker for some people?

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said the story would endear Mr Rudd to voters because it showed he had “blood in his veins”.

Treasurer Peter Costello declined to criticise Mr Rudd, but said he had never visited the Scores club

Journalist Glen Milne who broke the story, and who was drunk and abusive at last years Walkley awards, says that Rudd is a control freak, who needs to realise that he cannot control thr truth.

Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) managing director Jim Wallace said everyone made mistakes.

11 thoughts on “Rudd…..no gentleman”

  1. I think the way that Rudd has responded sets him apart from many other polititians.

    He didn’t try to pretend it didn’t happen, blame someone else or try to downplay the significance of what happened.

    He admitted that it was wrong, that he never should have been there, that he had done something very stupid, claimed full responsibility and apologised fully.

  2. Good comments…and it certainly came across that way on the TV…a cynic might suggest he had no choice but to admit it…there was no denying the claims.

  3. As someone who has supported Rudd, I was disappointed, especially initially. Like Rodney, I was impressed with Rudd’s response, although I’m not entirely optimistic enough to be certain that his options weren’t weighed up before he delivered a response.

    It won’t change who I vote for (at least in terms of two-party preferred terms), but I do think this must have done some damage. I think that this will probably halt any progress that Rudd might have made amongst “Christian circles”. I’d say if there were swinging voters who were previously undecided, he’ll have to work a lot harder to win them over now.

    But to quote you Mark: “Will they say….well Howard is more guilty of sinning with his policy on immigration, social reforms etc….
    Are they right?” – I’d sincerely hope that we don’t actually decide which leader we support on the basis of “who is more guilty of sinning”. That just sounds way too legalistic and judgemental for my liking.

  4. There is a lot of judgemental attitudes out there on Howard…..In my view anyway…
    But then it is a lot easier to criticise someone who is leading…than someone who wants to.

    If I was JH, I would be thankful that this issue with Rudd has at least take the press off the interest rate rises….which I still think will be the election decider….whether it should be ‘the issue’ is another discussion I suppose.

  5. I reckon, just like most of us, Rudd made a stupid decision – I’ve never assumed he was perfect and will still cast my vote based on policy.
    Broady

  6. Didn’t Howard admit to getting drunk at a Liberal event some time ago. Though apart from Costello there may not have been anyone stripping.
    To equate what Rudd has done with the Liberal party’s human rights violations is wrong. It’s the difference between making a stupid choice and a calculated policy and turning that into law.

  7. I think Howard actually admitted to being drunk in Parliament quite some years ago. It wasn’t when he was the leader of the Libs.

  8. Yeah, you’re right Rodney, it was after losing the party leadership.
    Maybe if we stop calling them parties this sort of stuff won’t happen.

    But seriously, isn’t the problem more with us when we demand perfection from our leaders. There is a great scene in the 7th season of The West Wing where Santos basically says, “If you want a perfect President, bad luck. You’re not going to get one.”

    We’re never going to get a perfect PM, and especially now with the intense scrutiny on them it’s harder than ever.

  9. i reckon JH’s played this one perfectly. he hasn’t criticised KR which would alienate a lot of aussies who can identify with drinking and strip clubs but just taken a back seat and let the press run with it. this issue won’t have any bearing at all on my vote. i’ve made some horrendously bad choices in my life and understand that one can do so and still be a decent person. i also reckon it’s significant that it happened a long time ago and there’s been no hint of a repeat since then.

    i personally think that a drunken night at a strip club comes nowhere near making a decision that leads directly to the death and mutilation of thousands of people in iraq and afghanistan.

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