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03 March 2007

I am an American who lived in Syndey from 2002 to 2004. I really love Australia and Australians, and wish the stupid (and zenophobic) visa rules didn't make it so hard to become a permanent resident. But that aside, I was alarmed even then to see that Howard could sign up Australia for the Iraq war even though 93% of the popluation was opposed (if you've ever done polls, 93% is an unheard of number).
In America, we can and often do have a divided government. But as Commonwealth members know, in a Parliiamentary system, the party in power can drag its country off in extreme directions, with no impediment until the next election.
So the real question is why Howard keeps getting reelected. In large measure, it was the economy ("stupid" to quote Clinton). That and per the article, Howard has been brilliant at exploiting fear, and until Rudd, Labor has had terible party leaders, Crean came off like a whinger, Beazley like an angry thug, and Latham self destructed before everyone's eyes (by contrast, I was impressed with most of the shadow ministers).
Despite the complaints about media freedom, coverage (when you consider all sources, such as ABC, SBS, and the Fairfax papers) is far more balanced than in the US, and you hear much more thoughtful and fact-based debates in the pubs than here.