The drag race that is federal politics is too close to call

Three cheers for Turnbull! The Australian yesterday:

Malcolm Turnbull’s popularity has equalled its highest level since the 2016 election on the back of one of the most well-received budgets in a decade and a $140 billion personal income tax cut plan that has been endorsed by a majority ... Mr Turnbull strengthened his position as the preferred PM to 46 per cent, jumping eight points to establish a 14-point lead (according to Newspoll).

And it’s doubleplusgood news for Labor and the debt-busters! The Sydney Morning Herald yesterday:

... the government has lost ground with voters after a bruising fight over sweeping income tax cuts, with the Coalition trailing Labor by 46 per cent to 54 per cent in two-party terms in the wake of the federal budget ... 38 per cent of voters (in the Fairfax/Ipsos poll) believe they will be better off from the budget and the $140bn in tax cuts it offers over a decade (but) a clear majority want the cash to be used to pay off government debt ...

It’s a win for “sociotropic voting”, says the SMH’s Peter Hartcher:

Sociotropic choices put the greater good of the country ahead of narrow personal self-interest ...

But what about the choice between Newspoll and Ipsos? The Conversation opts for an old chestnut in its headline yesterday:

Mixed messages in post-budget Newspoll and Fairfax-Ipsos

Peter van Onselen in yesterday’s Oz looks for common ground:

Interestingly the maximum upside error margin for the Coalition in the Fairfax poll gets the two-party vote to 48.9 per cent — in other words, almost exactly what Newspoll says it is. That said, the discrepancies between the polling agencies tells us that the way the budget has been received is as clear as mud.

True, it’s unwise to read too much into any one poll this far from an actual vote but everyone knows Newspoll is the one to watch. The PM didn’t invoke Ipsos when he rolled Tony Abbott, did he? ABC news, September 15, 2015:

(Turnbull said:) We have lost 30 Newspolls in a row. It is clear that the people have made up their mind about Mr Abbott’s leadership.

In another world, the PC brigade tries to get a grip on the cheesy chaos of Eurovision. SBS News yesterday:

Israeli singer Netta Barzilai’s Japanese-themed performance at Eurovision 2018 has been a source of debate ... some social media users accused her of “blatant” cultural appropriation for wearing a kimono and performing in front of Japanese maneki-neko cat toys.

What’s a maneki-neto cat or two between friends? Better to embrace our common humanity and fight identity politics. Simon Haines, The Australian, November 9, 2017:

“Identity” comes from the Latin word idem, meaning “same”. “Who you are” means “who you’re the same as”. But if your­ ­imagination is rich enough you can be the same as anyone: not just the same old same olds, the usual suspects. Publius Terentius Afer, now known as Terence, was one of the two great comic playwrights of Republican Rome ... His most celebrated legacy is the line ... “I am human, so nothing human is alien to me.” Terence first arrived in Rome as a Carthaginian slave. He was very likely a Berber, a word that is the Arab rendering of barbarian. (Othello was probably conceived by Shakespeare as a Barbary prince.) Terence’s Roman name was bestowed on him by his owner, a senator.