FORMER prime minister John Howard, still butthurt over his election flogging, has taken aim at his successor, Kevin Rudd, over his repeated pronouncements that the world is facing the worst financial crisis since the 1930s.
In his first news interview since the Coalition's electoral defeat a year ago, Mr Howard chose the right-wing American TV network Fox News to air his views about remedies for the global meltdown.
John, they think you are the Prime Minister of Austria. Americans will be wondering why the Austrian PM suddenly has something to say about economics.
"The first thing we should do is stop comparing what we now face with the Great Depression," he said in the interview to be aired in Australia this morning on Sky News.
"I'm not trying to downplay the seriousness of the situation but I think it's unnerving to the average citizen to be constantly told we're in the worst situation since the Great Depression - not because it isn't bad, but because there is no comparison between the circumstances we now face and the circumstances in the Great Depression."
And why wouldn't we trust his judgment? After all, he was right about there being no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, about the occupation being a quick success and about the scope of our involvement there. He predicted that the insurgency didn't exist, was run by Baathist dead-enders and was being commanded by Barack Osama himself. He also rightly ignored global warming and told us the Iraq war would lead to cheaper oil prices. He also failed to do anything about inflation and completely neglected infrastructure, when it didn't involve doling out cash to 'needy' electorates because there was no need. I for one would gladly stake my economic future on the sage wisdom of someone who has been so right so often.
Mr Howard said two major differences were that, in the 1930s, there was no social security net and there was no global economy.
WTF? the social security net you spent your entire life trying to destroy, when you weren't suckling off it?
Mirroring comments by his old mate, outgoing US President George Bush, Mr Howard - addressed throughout by interviewer Neil Cavuto as "Mr Prime Minister" - said re-regulation was not the answer.
Wow, Mr Prime Minister? It must have been like a scene from Misty Oaks Retirement Village. We all just pretend he's still PM, it makes it easier to give him his meds. It's nice to see that he's still blowing the worst leader evar.
He warned the Rudd Government against going "carelessly" into deficit, reminding viewers that the Howard government had been good at balancing the budget.
Oh yes, they balanced it through a global economic boom and failed to do a single thing with our prosperity to guard us against the inevitable down turn. Such hard work it was.
In a return to a familiar theme, Mr Howard declared that if spending the surplus meant cuts to defence and national security, it would please "our enemies".
What like that Barack Osama? I think that we should cut retirement entitlements for former PMs, we wouldn't want to please our enemies. I'm sure Rupert can spring for a cab, like he does for his other hoes.
Mr Howard, who in government warned that electing Barack Obama would be welcomed by terrorists, wished the president-elect well. "This is a great moment for many in the United States," he said.
LOL no more invites to the Whitehouse. You called the first black US president a terrorist. Awkward! But then he thought Nelson Mandela was a terrorist too. It's never to late to keep being on the wrong fucking side of history is it? If he'd been born a few decades earlier he would have supported the Nazis and we would have been spared a decade of his crap.
His foray into international political commentary coincides with the G20 leaders' meeting in Washington on the global financial crisis, which Mr Rudd is attending.
It was also before a detailed look at his government's years in office in a four-part ABC series, starting tomorrow night.
The Howard Years was produced from 180 hours of interviews with key domestic and international players from the Coalition's reign of almost 12 years.
The former prime minister gave 20 hours of his time for interviews, plus background briefings.
Well only JH could lie for 20 straight hours. How many ers and ums the editors at ABC have spared us we shall never know.
Many of Mr Howard's ministers over the Coalition's four terms were interviewed, including the unrequited heir apparent, his treasurer Peter Costello.
Mr Costello struggles in the first episode to find one word to describe his former boss, settling eventually on "relentless". Tony Abbott, an unabashed fan of the former prime minister, seizes on "magnificent".
Obviously Costello is still looking for that spine he lost back in '73 and Tony Abbott is still as clever as a brain damaged St Bernard.
There are differing accounts of the contentious children overboard affair of 2001, when Mr Howard and his senior ministers sensationally claimed asylum seekers in boats had tossed their children into the sea.
Denial, not just a river in Egypt.
Mr Howard said he trusted the ABC to deal with his time in office in an accurate and professional manner.
Why wouldn't they? He stacked the board with loyal half-wits before he left.
2 comments:
Cutting! He may not post much, but when he does... phew. I laughed so hard :)
See I find that whole ABC thing strange. Howard stacked the board with his mates, yet still the Libs complain about the ABC being a sheltered workshop for lefty journalists and former Labor advisers who'd be without a job otherwise.
I look forward to watching the Howard Years - I've seen some excerpts of Peter Reith and Alexander Downer peeing themselves over how much they loved him. Should be great. *vomit*
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