Saturday, May 08, 2010

Journalists: what can you do?

This title could also read "Politicians: what can you do?"

Marrickvillia is on the front of the Sydney Morning Herald News Review section today. Remember our party on election night?

I was contacted earlier this week to comment on Rudd's recent downward swing in the polls. I was happy for the SMH to use images from Marrickvillia, and to put the journalist in contact with other people who had been at our "Don's Party."

It's an ok article but I didn't say what I'm quoted as saying--but I'm not surprised that it's there. "Jilted" isn't in my vocabulary... and I'm fully aware that Rudd has kept some promises and that those he hasn't been able to keep have been somewhat thwarted by the shameless Libs in various ways.

We are still a thousand times better off with the ALP than with Abbott and his gang of losers.

Truth be told, at the end of the day, when all's said and done, I won't lie to you: politicians are primarily politicians, and we never really believe their "promises" in the first place. And journalists are primarily journalists, and we expect them to make stuff up. And I'm an academic and write a whole lot of theory-crap occasionally. It's all part of our rich discursive tapestry.

Our "Don's party" was a great night because we felt it was finally the end of the Howard era and because two powerful, fabulous women were suddenly in the forefront of Australian politics, not because any of us really thought that a consummate politician like Rudd would ever be anything other than exactly that.