A little voice tells me that Tony's intemperate comments (the insistent  tone is rather like that of a jilted lover) are due to someone with a lot of dough, sneaking up behind Tony and standing on something else. If that's the case, I can recommend a maker of surgical appliances. It's probably also true that his mood is affected by the developing political changes in the US, ie, the fanatical theocratists are going to get their come-uppance, due to the reactions to the situation of Louisiana.

I hope the new media can help to nail Tony Abbott's appendage to the floor. He has trailed it through the dust for too long, and left his unwelcome stain on too many doorposts. Now he has stepped in a puddle of his own making, and he deserves to take the consequences. But, if he does capitulate, the decent thing would be to accept his repentance. I say repentance, even though his style might be to claim the confidentiality of the confessional (to a person of very high office), because his sins were very public. He should have the guts to take his medicine, and crawl away. And if he does, let's not hang a flayed corpse up in tree and keep on slashing away at it.

On the other hand, there's a good case for hounding him out of the ministry. Tough call. On balance, it seems fair to sink the slipper.

Let's assume Abbott's gone. Move on to the next target. If I had a lot of dough, mates galore in the legal business, and endless ambition, I'd be figuring out ways to manipulate public opinion. So, I reckon the public has a right to know where the $1b for post-tsunami aid has gone. If the Treasurer can account for only about a quarter of it, well, that won't look too good on the job application.  I wonder if any of it has been diverted into the reconstruction of five-star knocking shops for middle-aged tourists?

Mediawatch