That was a good read Kevin. I tried leaving a comment, unsuccessfully, so I post my views here. Loved the bit about a heavy heart but with hope for the future. That captures how many of us feel.
Kevin a great piece and I agree with almost all of it.
Thanks! Hope it’s more accurate than my polls as a storm in a teacup group think post earlier in the week.
Kevin, I’ve just read your article, which exactly reflects my own feelings. I’ve had mixed emotions as I read the thread on Larvatus Prodeo about how ‘the plot unfolded’ and somehow could not condemn those supposedly heartless party operators on Labor’s right who reportedly brought him down. I think Rudd was close to burn-out but would not give in. Of course the media have been happy to focus on ALP factional intrigue as if they themselves had played no part at all in Rudd’s demise.
I often write political ‘pomes’ tongue in cheek. I suspect what I wrote this time is hand on heart:
Mutatis Mutandis
We held our leader in high regard,
Watched helpless as he was daily mauled
By media and an opposition fighting hard
And dirty, with no holds barred.
And finally when he lay bleeding,
Victim of press gallery canard,
Yes, we killed him because we knew
He was near dead, so battle scarred
And bruised he could never rise again.
So much was his reputation marred
Our cause, also dear to him, looked lost.
No choice but for the old praetorian guard
To take control and end a tragic farce.
This was no assassination.
It was an end to suffering; a ‘coup de grace’.
Café Whispers 
That was a good read Kevin. I tried leaving a comment, unsuccessfully, so I post my views here. Loved the bit about a heavy heart but with hope for the future. That captures how many of us feel.
Kevin a great piece and I agree with almost all of it.
Thanks! Hope it’s more accurate than my polls as a storm in a teacup group think post earlier in the week.
Kevin, I’ve just read your article, which exactly reflects my own feelings. I’ve had mixed emotions as I read the thread on Larvatus Prodeo about how ‘the plot unfolded’ and somehow could not condemn those supposedly heartless party operators on Labor’s right who reportedly brought him down. I think Rudd was close to burn-out but would not give in. Of course the media have been happy to focus on ALP factional intrigue as if they themselves had played no part at all in Rudd’s demise.
I often write political ‘pomes’ tongue in cheek. I suspect what I wrote this time is hand on heart:
Mutatis Mutandis
We held our leader in high regard,
Watched helpless as he was daily mauled
By media and an opposition fighting hard
And dirty, with no holds barred.
And finally when he lay bleeding,
Victim of press gallery canard,
Yes, we killed him because we knew
He was near dead, so battle scarred
And bruised he could never rise again.
So much was his reputation marred
Our cause, also dear to him, looked lost.
No choice but for the old praetorian guard
To take control and end a tragic farce.
This was no assassination.
It was an end to suffering; a ‘coup de grace’.
Pingback: Australia: Dramatic Fall of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd | The Global Citizen