Bush Looses Lapdog - Aussie Rudd Sweeps Into Power, Australia Has Spoken

Bush Looses Lapdog – Rudd Sweeps Into Power, Australia Has Spoken

BRISBANE (Reuters) – Australia’s Labor leader Kevin Rudd, a Mandarin speaking former diplomat, swept into power at national elections on Saturday on a wave of support for generational change, ending 11 years of conservative rule.

“Today Australia has looked to the future,” Rudd, flanked by his wife Therese and family, told jubilant supporters. “I will be a prime minister for all Australians.”

The surge to Labor left conservative Prime Minister John Howard struggling to win even his own parliamentary seat, which he has held since 1974, putting him in danger of becoming the first prime minister since 1929 to lose his constituency.

Rudd, 50, presented himself as a new generation leader by promising to pull Australian combat troops out of Iraq and sign the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, further isolating Washington on both issues.

SYDNEY, Australia, Mr. Howard’s defeat, after 11 years in power, follows that of José María Aznar of Spain, who also backed the United States-led invasion of Iraq, and political setbacks for Tony Blair of Britain.

Analysts said the leadership change was unlikely to bring a radically new foreign policy, although they expected a shift in emphasis in the relationship with the United States, Australia’s closest ally. “Australia will remain a close ally of the United States, and Rudd remains committed to the alliance,” said Michael Fullilove, of the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney. But he noted that “if there is a Democratic administration elected next year, to some extent they would become closer.”

Mr. Rudd, 18 years younger than Mr. Howard, has a reputation as a cerebral student of policy, as opposed to the Liberal leader’s image of a hardened and aggressive political animal.

“He seems more personable, approachable. He doesn’t seem arrogant — yet — and I have respect for him,” said Marcelle Freiman, who voted for Mr. Rudd in eastern Sydney on Saturday.

Mr. Fullilove said Mr. Rudd’s experience regarding China is unlikely to make a significant difference to Australia’s relationship with the United States. “I would counsel against people assuming that because Kevin Rudd speaks Mandarin there would be a big rebalancing of the relationship in favor of Beijing,” he said.

Now that Bush has lost another lap dog, his “coalition of the willing” looks pretty sad. Too bad the world can see through the Emperor’s Clothes and America’s immoral majority cannot. Just like the administration is preparing for a post-Musharraf Pakistan, the world looks forward to a post-Bush America!

Bush has continued to extort America with Rudi’s 9/11 mantra and “the terrorists are coming … because they hate our freedom”. America’s executive branch has imposed “double speak” for too long, the world has caught on and is finally doing something about it. America is far behind the world. America preaches to everyone but itself. “Do as I say and not what I do” is worn out. The American ideal used to be “lead by example”. After slipping into “lead by coercion” America has lost its morals, meaning the Golden Rule. Oh yeah, we got our pound of flesh after we were attacked … Taliban are returning to Afghanistan and Iraq is now so ruined, that recovery will take decades. Figure, the American dead are now double what the casualties from 9/11 were. The destruction of property and infrastructure is 100+ times what 9/11 wrought. The damage to the US Constitution makes Osama giggle with delight. Oh yes, we got our pound of flesh from the wrong guy. Osama is still making videos and he was the original target. While the world was in sympathy with America after 9/11, BushCo took advantage and got countries to sign a vengeance contract promising them a fortune. That contract is now voided by our own crooks and profiteers. We are no longer the envy of the world … we are the mote.