It looks like John Howard will lose his seat in parliament as well. The defeat of his government was pretty comprehensive and Bush has lost a close personal ally. The new Labor government will initiate a phased withdrawal of Australian troops from Iraq.

"I think Beazley will become a real force in Washington circles and will be welcomed enthusiastically. I know he'll throw great parties."

Sometimes you just make it TOO easy, Steve.

French conservatives (other than the fascists) like Sarkozy often seem closer to moderate American democrats. Am I wrong in thinking that?

"How do we dance while our nation's burning?" Seems like there isn't much time for dancing. Should we hope, against all hope, that some sanity might creep it's way into the dungeon of political horror that is Bush-Amerika? Do we dare to rise above the dank despair of treason that rules America's Congress? Could justice be found in an unjust world? Possibly. Would the Israelis end their ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people? Nah! Ain't never gonna happen. Australia may have regained some sanity but sadly, Amerika might not recover from the Bush Reich.

My home state of Georgia and the country of Australia have something in common with regard to the demographic stocks tapped to obtain colonists. (Some of the colonists may have literally been in stocks at some time.) There has been much migration to both places since the colonial days, of course. I'm glad to see that one of the two is making progress politically and in addressing environmental problems.

Rudd said Israel was merely defending itself in its latest and 4th invasion of Lebanon last summer, during which Israel--after it was humiliatingly defeated-- dropped an estd. 3M cluster bombs on civilians.

We are happy to have our country back after 11 years of divisive policies, squanderlust economics and the imposition of an unpalatable conservative agenda. There are tough times ahead for our economy - the resource boom will continue in the short term but the new Rudd Government will need to plan carefully (ala Norway) for the future.
It's not yet apparent to may Coalition supporters just how big a shellacking they've been handed. "Safe" Liberal seats are now marginal, marginal Labor seats are now safe as houses. Howard is gone and his Treasurer, Peter Costello has refused to stand as Leader, displaying a bitterness usually reserved for a playground huff. They have a long way to come back from this one.
Howard's attachment to Bush did not play a massive part in the overall protest vote however it was one more stick to add to the pyre. It usually got tacked onto the end of a Labor voter's rant about how much they hate John Howard.
Howard had stated, "It seems Mr Rudd believes it's alright to fight terrorism in Afghanistan, but not in Iraq."
Well.... precisely, John. You just didn't get it, did you?

You forgot to say "Call me king of the mountain!"

good article : )

It was a relief to get rid of that bigot but would be such a celebration to send him off in a proverbial box. I came back after four years away and my head hurts today. I am still sceptical of Rudd - no word about outsourcing refugee processing, absolutely draconian immigration rules............

I want to be proud again to be an Aussie. Bob Brown, the guy who as a young medical intern in a UK hospital announced to the media that Hendrix is dead, makes me proud again to be an Aussie. He is the most honest politician I've ever met who answers questions without equivocation. I remain a die hard true believer for organised labour but Brown's Greens get my second preference for the House and first for the Senate.

Steve, hope you are right!
It is a good omen.

"I think Beazley will become a real force in Washington circles and will be welcomed enthusiastically. I know he'll throw great parties."

no shit dude (steve clemons), you're pathetic. the u.s dollar is collapsing under a mountain of debt, the top 1% of the population has amassed more wealth than the bottom 90% combined, our foreign policy is subservient to a foreign lobby that you fear and refuse to call by name, the middle east wars in afghan and iraq have cost us almost 1.5 trillion dollars and you want to continnue with politics as usual in washington because you want to go to parties and be considered part of the in crowd.
why dont you stand for something other than what has led the u.s into the hellhole of debt and laws, dysfunctional government and a growing police state.

either that or register as an agent of the united nations, and tell us what part of the constitution you feel ought to be dismantled.

we want a ron paul makeover and to kick out the professional political class out of washington and to cut our taxes, and to stop paying interest on the money they borrow from the federal reserve bank, and to go back to constitutional rule.

Now that Penny Wong is selected as Climate Change Minister, who is she and do you think she will be effective in that capacity?

Kevin Rudd is a dedicated supporter of the Zionist entity. This election in Australia continues the successful efforts of the Jews to control every nation in the world through contriol of business and media, and manipulation of so-called elections. From Clinton and Bush in the USA, to Blair abd Brown in the UK, Sarkozy in France, Merkl in Germany, the treacherous Gul in Turkey, and first Howard and now Rudd in Australia, the Jews have got their puppets elected to power. President Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Hossayni Khamenei both understand the Jewish danger perfectly.