Word: kevin
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...things Kevin Rudd claims to have discovered during his time in politics is that Australians can spot a fraud at 50 paces. "Be who you are," Rudd tells interviewers who ask about his public image or leadership style. The needle on an Aussie fake detector, however, can swing wildly if the device gets too close to a white-hot political marvel. On a recent sunny morning, Rudd is scheduled to visit a school in Prime Minister John Howard's Sydney electorate. He's running late. Two dozen reporters and photographers are gathered in an arc near the school's entrance...
...take the country if he wins the election? Some see shades of Bill Clinton, others detect an echo of British New Labour's Third Way. At a Canberra truck depot last month, a reporter asked Rudd: "Are you doing a Tony Blair?" He responded: "I'm doing a Kevin. And let me tell you, that means putting our best step forward for the economy of the 21st century and that means no turning back. It means that we've got to embrace the challenges of the new century, the rise of China, the big challenges of climate change, producing...
...Rudd's early-hardship story tumbled out effortlessly: When Kevin was 11, his sharefarmer father died in hospital six weeks after a road accident and the family had to leave the farm; as a boy, he was smitten by China and eventually went off to study its language and history at the Australian National University. He met Therese Rein, his future wife, at ANU and worked his way through school doing menial jobs. But when asked questions about his professional career, Rudd has a tendency to overplay his breadth of experience. A week after he became leader, Rudd's eight...
...after the "Fork in the Road" listening tour, Rudd could reveal to 2UE's Tim Webster what Australians wanted of him: "To come up with a proposal which restores the balance, as it were, reclaims the center ground, keeping fairness alive but still building a strong economy." Doing a Kevin is contradictory. It involves looking like John. The man Rudd is trying to retire is the one he hopes voters will see in him. Howard's strengths are his conviction, discipline, competence, modesty and sobriety. He's boring, perhaps, but trustworthy. A safe pair of hands. In Rudd's message...
...Part of Rudd's early success is due to his strategic prowess and his party's obedience. Being a Howard critic was the first phase of Doing a Kevin. As ALP leader, Rudd has tried to exude a mainly positive message, and he's been able to control the agenda. Labor has settled on many of the issues that suit it and the times. It has rolled out bite-sized policy chunks on its major themes of education, child care, industrial relations, federalism and business regulation. The impasse between the Commonwealth and states is neatly captured by Rudd...