I am very sorry about Kim Beazeley's

loss of his brother yesterday. People in politics are human too but how often do I forget that myself. Politicians themselves ought to remember that more often than they do. I am sure Beazeley himself was a good man but he let himself down over the Tampa issue in 2001. Maybe he panicked and was spooked and forsook his integrity as he saw power about to slip away from him again. He did not show himself strong enough to put better talent such as Emerson or Tanner on his front bench. I hope Rudd is strong enough to demand a quality front bench.

So if I think like this, does this apply to PM Howard? Is he not a human being too? The man lacks integrity and he plays upon the perceptions of the voter. This is wrong. He lacks the morals of a principled person while he acts out the role of a principled person. There used to be decent people in the Liberal Party - Peter Baume and Ian McPhee and Fred Chainey - but there seems to be no place for them now. Putting an inanimate concept such as the economy ahead of the human concept of the community amounts to policy gone ideologically warped. If Howard wants to be treated as a human then he has to put humanity above economy. If he gets sick or old or dies, then let the economy grieve for him on account that he worships it so much.