Items of interest found recently in my RSS feed. What did I miss? Please share what you've been reading (and writing!) in the comments.

• Punditocracy: Week 2

– “The focus appears to be on deciding who “won”, without considering the possibilities that (i) it might have been a scoreless draw, or (ii) it doesn’t matter who “wins” unless people’s experience of the debate might actually decide their vote.”

• Yeah see if they win it'll only be because she is a GURL so nyerdy nyer

– Quoting Crikey’s Bernard Keane: “If Tony Abbott think[s] Julia Gillard became Prime Minister because of her gender, or that the only way she’ll win the election is if female voters reflexively vote along gender lines, then he really does have a problem with women, and not just a political one.”

• Election 2010: Day 9 (or the debate that we’ve already forgotten)

– “But does anyone care? No of course not. It won’t change a vote. The election is not for 4 weeks. By then you really think anyone will remember anything said tonight? I can’t remember what either of them said 4 weeks ago, and I’;m a political junkie. 99% of the population are not. By the time Masterchef finishes it’ll all be forgotten.”

• What’s wrong with me?

– “Okay, don’t answer that question. But I didn’t watch either the Debate between our esteemed political leaders, or the Master Chef final. Thus I suspect I am in a minority of the Australian population.”

• Newspoll and Galaxy -polls vs trends

– Pollytics crunches the latest polls

• Self absorbed and deluded – cross party edition

– “What we are seeing in Australia is a political crisis in slow motion. For most of the last three years that crisis has been focussed on the Liberal party. Coming to the surface as the Howard government imploded in its final days, it was full blown by the time of Turnbull and his ousting. Turnbull brought out the dilemma that exists for any redundant political organisation, the irreconcilable choice for a party between standing for its traditional values – and electoral viability.”

• Stability

– “While the Coalition’s problems are on full display Labor’s are emerging as well, but are partly concealed because of Gillard’s better performance but also, the media seem to have a better grip on the Coalition’s, i.e. a curious sentimental attachment to unpopular polices and a leader who seems out of sync with the electorate. In reality though, they both have the same problem. For Labor its coming out in three ways.”

Categories: linkfest

Tags: australia, elections, Read-ems