@ambercat16 wrote:
Not sure if all "the outraged" saw it the same way I did but my objection was that the mad monk thought it acceptable to try to use Bob Hawke's death to make a political point. I guess when you are desperate you will clutch onto anything.
I didn't see it as political point scoring.
I think Abbott meant it as a compliment (after all, he is a Liberal so in his eyes he was just saying that here was a man who, despite being on the other side of politics, still implemented some excellent policies) and I think also, the word 'liberal' has a wider meaning beyond the political. Especially to say someone has a liberal heart.
It was a clever line actually and I bet a lot of journalists are wishing they had thought of it.
I think some of the press reactions have been more to do with Abbott than Hawke. A lot of people just don't like him so will take his statements to task more so than they would for some others. After all, Hawke is the one who once called one voter a 'silly old bugger' for commenting that the PM got more in a week than he did in a year. There was some comment but Hawke got away with it because he was popular.
