While the presentation of the misogyny speech last year was applauded, the general response to her carefully orchestrated speech striking out against men in "blue ties" who run the country and think they "know better" on abortion did not just fall flat, it was counterproductive.
The language was just plain silly, the release of tightly cropped vision from the Prime Minister's office to the television news smacked of propaganda, and the argument was unsustainable and evidence-free. What's worse, by going back to the gender wars and introducing abortion as an election issue, Gillard angered and confused many of her own MPs.
The evidence suggests Abbott would not have tried to change abortion laws even if they weren't in the hands of state governments. Fundamentalist Christian groups, meanwhile, have been re-energised in their opposition to Labor.
The low point in Gillard's salvo against Abbott was the unseemly rush to cite a despicable mock menu that was highly offensive and degrading to Gillard and women. Without a sign of caution, Gillard and senior ministers pounced on the allegations and called for apologies and disendorsement of the Liberal candidate for Fisher, former Howard government minister Mal Brough.
Brough, Joe Hockey and Abbott were lined up to be pilloried for their sexism and offensive behaviour before the facts were sorted, sending Labor into a massive and distracting overkill.
The restaurant owner confessed to writing the fake menu as a joke between himself and his son, and confirmed no one at the Liberal fundraiser had seen it.
The former employee who threw the menu into the social media maelstrom admitted he had no evidence anyone had seen it and told Sky News he had "full sympathy" for Brough, who had apologised for something he didn't do and hadn't seen.
The real kicker for Labor was that the former employee conceded he'd written offensive material about Abbott - involving AIDS and pit bulls - on social media. Other offensive references he has made would have fallen within the purview of Gillard's criticism of internet cranks.
by Denis Shanahan
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/gravest-threat-to-gillard-lies-in-second-thoughts...
