The most revealing election debate has been the debate over whether to have a second debate.

When Tony thought it was in his interests for our two prospective leaders to deliver their scripted statements to our great democracy from the same TV stage at the same time, he was all for it, and later when Julia decided it was in her interests, so was she.

Unsurprisingly, Tony’s self-interest and Julia’s self-interest failed to coincide, and whether or not it was in the interests of the country to have a second debate never entered the equation, which probably tells you everything you need to know.

The Australian, 5 August 2010