Everywhere you go, there’s the Sham singing hosannas for the greatest Treasurer that ever drew breath.

It’s so nauseating it’s hysterical! LOL

Pete’s going to need a visit to the proctologist to have this condition attended to.

But some of them are the sort of spineless twats who supported Howard through thick and thin purely because Howard delivered the polling results. Now Pete’s doing that, and that impresses the power-for-power’s-sake brigade.

And some of them – especially the Nats, I’d guess, just can’t stomach Turnbull (although after 11 years of Howard you’d think they’d be used to headstrong autocrats).

Anyway, we agree on one thing: it’s fine theatre

Talk about arrogance. I know what I’d be saying to him if I was one of them! LOL

I agree he’d be a disappointment as leader – his work ethic and general attitude to the leadership reminds me horribly of Beazley’s, and I’m sure he’d share Bomber’s lack of electoral success as a result.

It’s still a mess, and Costello is not the messiah, and even if he does get the leadership, he’ll still have to consume a lot of the brown stuff between then and any election.

Does he really want to be tested like that? Going on his past work ethic I’d be tempted to think not.

This could still be a great disappointment in the making.

How exciting! LOL

A pretty accurate summation.

Jules

If he’s staying, he’s got the numbers in the polling running his way as the public’s preferred leader.

If he’s going, and his plan is to inflict as much pain as possible on those who never backed him against Howard, then he’s also sitting pretty. Walking out on them again now, just when the party is turning to him for help, would really sink them further into the shit.

Either way, Pete wins.

Sounds smart to me. As does not wanting the job of chief shit sandwich eater immediately after the election defeat.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m no fan of Costello – he did a so-so job in easy circumstances. More than mediocre it was a lazy mix of competent and awful, with his arrogance making him blind to his errors.

But I think his actions since the election – starting with rejecting the leadership on election night – have been politically spot on. Sure it’s a gamble that the Libs distrust Turnbull so much that they’ll beg him to return, but it looks on the money given Costello’s superior polling in the last Newspoll.

I honestly don’t believe Costello would have the same Newspoll lead over Turnbull if he’d taken the leadership last year. So he’s got a better result by sipping cocktails in Fiji than by eight months of shit sandwich munching. And you guys reckon he doesn’t have what it takes to succeed in politics

http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/case-for-costello-not-clear-cut/2008/08/02/1217097606532.html

By the way Bemused, most people just assumed that Costello would take over when Howard bombed last November, which made his petulant pout all the more galling to those who’d assumed he’d rise uncontested. With Howard out he was assumed as the next runner, but his pique at being done out of the PM-ship was greater than his commitment to the party or his colleagues.

I’m with Possum: all flour, no yeast.

He never had the numbers, and that’s clear from all the comment at the time. That he also failed to stand up and have a shot just proved how gutless and lacking the killer instinct he was. (Showing some balls would have been to his advantage).He could have either challenged and failed and gone to the back bench, or just removed himself, but by doing nothing, (except chucking a petulant display after the election), he’s marked himself as a non-leader in my opinion.