The politics of being human

Wednesday 9 February 2011 12:51 AM

We as a nation - politicians, journalists and the general public - are displaying remarkably short memories of a Federal election campaign which was long on spin and personality while short on substance. We said through the ballot box that we'd had enough of politicians playing the (wo)man rather than the ball.

Yet what are we all doing now? Assessing the Prime Minister's fitness for office by whether her unscripted emotions are displayed to just the right extent and at the most opportune time. And similarly judging her opposite number by whether he has a slick enough answer to a difficult question on a subject multi-layered with deep emotion.

Someone please wake me up when we're back on policy.