A word in your mouth, sir - a short history of verballing the former prime minister

John Howard on the ABC's Four Corners, February 19, 1996:

BY the year 2000 I would like to see an Australian nation that feels comfortable and relaxed. I would like to see them comfortable and relaxed about their history; I would like to see them comfortable and relaxed about the present; and I'd also like to see them comfortable and relaxed about the future.

Peter Hartcher in his 2007 Quarterly Essay, Bipolar Nation:

HOWARD is a deft handler of the Frightened Country. He knows our fears and phobias and he is masterful in playing on them. And then he offers us reassurance. Howard, who once famously articulated his vision for a "relaxed and comfortable" Australia, now has a new ideal.

Peter Costello's budget statement, August 20, 1996:

BUDGET measures have focused on reducing waste and duplication, targeting expenditure on those activities that deliver the greatest benefit to the community and eliminating or scaling back non-core activities.

The next day Labor's John Faulkner takes Costello's words and puts them in Howard's mouth:

COULD Senator [Robert] Hill explain to the Senate why Mr Howard redefined the election promises that he did not intend to keep as "non-core" election commitments?

Hartcher in The Sydney Morning Herald, November 8, 2007:

HOWARD invented a new concept in evasiveness yesterday to add to his other creations, the "non-core" promise and the "two-night" promise.

Howard in his book, Lazarus Rising:

HIS rather elitist dismissal of what his fellow MPs thought on a whole range of issues was one of the main reasons why the widespread respect for Costello's abilities within the parliamentary party never translated into enthusiastic support for him as party leader.

Hartcher in The Sydney Morning Herald on Friday:

MR Howard has said Mr Costello is an elitist who lacked the ability to connect with ordinary Australians.

Costello in Fairfax papers yesterday:

NOW for the first time Howard "reveals" he intended to stand down as Liberal leader in December 2006. There is not a skerrick of objective evidence to support his supposed retirement plan. He told no one.

Piers Akerman in The Sunday Telegraph, May 14, 2006:

POLITICAL minds with close ties to the Howard camp are now admitting that the times may suit an elegant departure. Mr Howard does not want to linger as a lame duck prime minister. A transferral of the leadership at the end of the year, in December perhaps, would permit Mr Howard to go to the back bench.

Glenn Milne in The Sunday Telegraph, May 21, 2006:

AKERMAN is regarded as being very close to the prime minister.

The Australian's Dennis Shanahan, July 18, 2006:

TWO weeks ago Howard's position was that he would make up his mind about contesting the next election in December. But Costello's remarks after the revelation of a 1994 undertaking on leadership have turned the past week into a referendum on Australia's leadership. Howard won hands down.

Keep those career options open . . . Annabel Crabb delivers the A.N. Smith lecture last night:

I KNOW we at the ABC are generally supposed to be having a little skirmish with Team Rupert at the moment but please permit me to observe that [News Limited chairman and chief executive John] Hartigan is a valuable leadership figure and an optimist about journalism's capacity to reinvent itself in an exciting way. The industry needs more media executives like him, who are prepared to lead publicly and relish change rather than glumly await the fate of the existing medium.

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