A dedicated thread for your blow-by-blow commentary of the leaders’ debate at the National Press Club as it unfolds.
Author: William Bowe
William Bowe is a Perth-based election analyst and occasional teacher of political science. His blog, The Poll Bludger, has existed in one form or another since 2004, and is one of the most heavily trafficked websites on Australian politics.
View all posts by William Bowe
Guytaur – no one watches Ch 10
Irrelevant ML.
Quite bland debate.
Tone 5.5/10
Kevin 5/10
Wont change too many votes.
[Ch 9 had 100 “swingers” in the studio.]
If this is true (and I dont know), then it went very well indeed for Rudd tonight.
Ch7, OTOH, has a self-selecting app download sample of voters (ie clearly unreliable), and lets face it: they chose Kennett (with no balancing voice) as their Federal election commentator.
Advantage Rudd. Onward!
I think Rudd won the debate but Abbott survived so he got a tactical win out of it.
“@michaelebeid: Tues 8:30pm @insightSBS, @SenatorWong explains why Marriage Equality is important 4 a secular society like ours @AMEQUALITY @AlexGreenwich”
Rudd’s biggest problems was his tendency to obfuscate and try to change the topic, even aggressively. That Sydney line was just stupid. Rudd needs Sydney votes to win, telling them “You’re not the only city, deal with it!” is not a good way to get them!
Abbott came off as a tad awkward and cocky and his slogans did seem rehearsed. He also really struggled to put any meat in his pledges, relying on generic “make the economy stronger” non-pledges.
😆 😆 😆 Kroger on Sky boosting Kerosene Bishop as a tireless worker for aged care.
Unfortunately the worm doesn’t get a vote.
Bugger, I have just wasted an hour of my life.
Why was Kevin Rudd debating George Bush, i thought he was supposed to be debating Abbott.
$5.80 now
Everyone bar channel seven gives it to Rudd.
But a bookie was taking bets on the debate, based on 7 results and the Liberal Party was tweeting its members to download the 7 App.
Disgraceful.
thanks pith..but it doesn’t work for me anymore….my heart on my sleeve …pulsing, bleeding everywhere…..I’m pathetic
I think Rudd won with the viewers…
…and…
Tony won with the press gallery.
This is going to be interesting
The debate was pathetic. No more to be said
$5.50 now!
Some big bets must be happening!!!!!
Miranda # 250: Quite right! Aer not the workhouses in operation?
Happy Christmas to you too… NOT
What was with Rasputins eyelids? Makeup gone wrong?
http://www.theage.com.au/polls/federal-politics/federal-election-2013/who-do-you-think-won-the-debate-20130811-2rpx0.html#poll
Fairfax poll Bludgers. I missed most of the debate but thanks for the rolling coverage here.
Whatever
SportsBet has been sitting on $4.80 all day and hasn’t moved following the debate.
I thought the debate was pretty dull with neither of the participants prepared to really confront the other for fear of upsetting the worm. Hardly good for open democratic debate.
The only way that this debate was going to make a big difference was if one of them made a huge blunder that could lead the headlines tomorrow. In a sterile format like that of the debate, it never was going to happen.
“@rauribarker: KRudd, You just got my vote with that statement.
#leadersdebate #marriageequality”
I wonder how poroti is going….
Who actually won the debate today seems a matter for debate, but one thing seems clear. There will be no more debates, unless Krudd agrees to the town hall forums suggested by Mr Abbott. It seems all so appropriate that Mr Abbott is able to set the terms of the debates (or lack thereof). In either case I’m enjoying watching Krudd’s final struggles as he slowly sinks into peat bogs of politics.
the most important thing about tonights debate was seeing the clear comparison between Abbott and Rudd and Abbott came across wooden, boring and totally uninspiring. that is the critical outcome the comparison of the two leaders on offer.
The worm outcomes and the conclusions on who won would have been exactly the same if they’d inadvertently blanked out the channels for an hour. Debates don’t alter people’s minds but they reinforce what people already believe and people look for the one line that confirms their perceptions .. there, he said that, you see etc. Waste of time and AEC should just declare election for Libs now and save a lot of time and money – 90 seats to 60 roughly.
The SSM issue may become a sleeper issue during the campaign.
@Mick77/427
lol. AEC to declare already?
Lefty e Can you explain re Moreton view please
If I TRY VERY HARD to be objective, Id say the following:
I though Abbott was doing better than Rudd in the first quarter, but then Rudd relaxed and was more fluent and engaging.
Yes, I dont think Rudd handled the Sydney Airport all that well. But he did well on NBN, productivity and marriage equality.
Abbott looked shifty on costings – its just not a good look at all. A lot of punters will recall it was Costello who set up these tests of an oposition. Some of his stuff on the CO2 tax seems stale now: he’s debating someone who is no longer there.
Rudd will have done better tonight with undecideds, but Abbott didnt screw the pooch either – in general I dont think this format is likel to engage punters as much as it does us.
I think Abbott will refuse further debates as they are too big a risk for him.
Admittedly, Mitt Romney did get a very big bounce out of winning the first debate against Obama. Had Rudd tanked in the debate it would have been all over red rover (it probably already is).
“@TwitterAU: Peak moment of the #LeadersDebate was 1,952 Tweets per minute at 7:25pm AEST, during #samesex marriage discussion.”
ML
Which bookie are you watching? sportingbet moved to 5.25 before the debate began and hasn’t moved. Do you have a link for what you’re perving at? (We know that sprocket’s a fraud on betting reports like on most things.)
[ there, he said that, you see etc. Waste of time and AEC should just declare election for Libs now and save a lot of time and money – 90 seats to 60 roughly.]
WTF? You undemocratic fool
confessions
First tummy gurgles have hit. Reckon I got ten minutes left. Still got another liter of the ambrosia to drink.
Uh oh. Make that about 2 minutes left. Byeeeeeeeee.
@hughriminton: Thanks to the 8000+ tweeps who voted in our #Debate twitterpoll tonight – calling it for @KRuddMP on “believability” @channeltennews
BH – ABC24 went to four undecided voters in moreton for a qualitative feedback session.
All 4 were quite articulate, and the general vibe was unimpressed with format, contemporary politics in general – wanting deeper explanations of policy and fewer cheap slogans.
Rosemour
you might get a pleasant surprise come sep 7.
If the polls are awful 1 week out then it’s time to really worry.
liyana @ 348
[Menzies!!! Did he say Menzies!!! ROFL- how ridiculous!]
Got me thinking.
Menzies won his last election in 1963.
To be of voting age then, one had to be born by 1942.
That is to say, for the 2013 election, one needs to be 71 years of age or more, to have been eligible to vote in an election with Menzies as PM.
Looking at last year’s demographic stats, that would be at maximum, 12.3% of the voting age bloc. And a reasonable proportion of them surely would be immigrants from after 1963, who would not have ever experienced a Menzies election.
Wrapping it up here now, so it’s back to the earlier thread.