politicalowl

Radio and television interviewers just can't help themselves. The temptation to try a basically meaningless question to catch a politician out is just too great. How much does a litre of milk cost? What would the GST be on that cake? What's the name of the leaders of Islamic State, Hezbollah, al Qaeda and its Nusra Front wing in Syria? That last one was what US right wing talk-radio host Hugh Hewitt wanted Donald Trump to tell him this week. And the Donald made a pretty good fist of replying when he didn't have a clue about the answers. As Reuters reported the exchange: "Do you know the players without a scorecard, yet, Donald Trump?" asked Hewitt, who will co-moderate the next official Republican presidential debate on Sept. 16 in California. "No, you know, I’ll tell you honestly, I think by the time we get to office, they’ll all be changed. They’ll be all gone," Trump replied. "You know, those are like history questions. 'Do you know this...

You can love him or, more likely, hate him but there’s one thing you have to admit about Scott Morrison – he is one of that rare breed of politician who realises that when you are doing something that many people find unpopular the best thing to say is nothing. Just imagine how much stronger the controversy would be if he was feeding the daily media appetite for details of every little aspect of his operation sovereign borders. It would be headlines every day to the exclusion of anything else the government is doing and while “stop the boats” might be a broadly popular policy with the masses it is not the only, or even the major, message that will determine this government’s future. Stopping the boats might be approved by many but publicising the sending of people back to a country where they face torture or worse will worry at least some of those supporters. There are limits even for those with xenophobia so silence about the downsides of the Coalition’s policies is politically sen...