." And so that's just what we did. In an example of how I think Metafilter can do politics well, the
the first day of the campaign), ran for 30 days straight and (at time of writing) had amassed almost 600 comments. But as is the norm for an FPP after 30 days on the Blue, it's about to be closed so discussion has moved over to
, by wilful, to get us through to election day. An index of the first thread is inside, as well as kudos for those involved (because I think they deserve it).
It's a big thread, so to make it easy for everyone to navigate around it, here are some quick links to each day up until the thread was closed and what the major issues of the day were.
Day 1: The first day of the election proper saw the Governments promise huge tax cuts, which were the big issue for the day.
Day 2: The tax cuts were still the big issue.
Day 3: Still the tax cuts, but criticism of their potential effects on the economy were starting to surface.
Day 4: Still tax cuts, but analysis of election ads were also a big issue this day.
Day 5: The first Newspoll of the campaign and political reaction to
The Chaser's 'Eulogy Song' were the big issues of the day.
Day 6: The Opposition released their tax plan late on Day 5, so Day 6 was focused largely on analysis of their tax policy.
Day 7: A pretty quiet day, but anticipation for the Leaders debate to be held that night was high.
Day 8: The leaders debate was itself debated, especially the furore surrounding the alleged censorship of The Worm.
Day 9: A new Newspoll that showed Labor surging ahead, but The Worm was still a big topic.
Day 10: Howard announces $4b worth of pork for seniors, and discussion turns once again to the tax cuts of Day 1.
Day 11: The release of the latest CPI figures revealed a forthcoming rates rise nightmare for the Government.
Day 12: The Government was still copping flack over the potential rate rise and a new Morgan poll showed surging support for Labor.
Day 13: Joe McDonald was expelled from the ALP, rates rises were still on the menu (but waning as an issue) and a new AC Nielsen poll echoed yesterday's Morgan.
Day 14: It was revealed Turnbull tried to get Cabinet to ratify Kyoto and that, along with the story of how the leak occurred, was making headlines this day.
Day 15: Interest rates made a small comeback, but environment issues were the focus of the day.
Day 16: Another Newspoll, this time with the Government gaining ground over Labor. The Treasurers debate happened; many people yawned.
Day 17: Tony Abbott's day from hell which saw him insult a dying man, turn up late for a national debate and caught swearing on camera.
Day 18: Another boring day, mostly focussed on Howard's $4b worth of bribes to seniors and how they'd vote for him because of it.
Day 19: At the halfway mark of the campaign, an e-mail suggests a conspiracy between the Government and the AFP against Dr. Haneef. Peter Garrett puts his foot in his mouth.
Day 20: The Government went into full attack mode over Peter Garrett's gaffe and Peter Andren MP, sadly, passed away.
Day 21: A second day of coverage on Garrett's gaffe, and the first time that Howard tried to paint an interest rate rise as a positive factor of his leadership.
Day 22: The Garrett gaffe had all but disappeared as voters and journos digested the latest Galaxy poll and Howard's change of heart on rates.
Day 23: The day of the Melbourne cup showed Howard closing the gap (by 1 point) in the latest Newspoll. FWIW, my horsie, Gallic, dropped out.
Day 24: As expected, this day saw the RBA raise interest rates, pushing mortgage rates to an 11-year high of 6.75 per cent.
Day 25: Interest rates, interest rates, interest rates, interest rates. Also, a debate about the environment. Did I mention interest rates?
Day 26: Interest rates again, lots of talk about Howard's non-apologetic apology, and former Labor leader Mark Latham returns from beyond the political grave.
Day 27: News came to light that half of all AWAs failed the Governments fairness test. Two new polls, with Morgan in particular giving Labor a massive lead.
Day 28: It was revealed that Julia Gillard had once been conned by a man she loved and the PM acknowledged that home repossessions were up since being re-elected in 2004.
Day 29: Today! The anniversary of the Whitlam Governments dismissal saw a new Newspoll with Labor gaining ground. The Liberals launched their campaign in Brisbane and spent up big.
A big shout out to UbuRovias, Jimbob and wilful, who were the biggest and most common contributors to the thread, but kudos to
everyone who popped in for the thirty days the thread ran for to keep the thread alive and more importantly contribute, debate, discuss and dissect the happenings of the campaign so far. May it last for the rest of the campaign in the new thread! Come join us (Aussies in particular!). It's the future of your democracy, people!
And may these two threads serve as an example of how Metafilter can (I think) do politics well, especially when there is goodwill on all sides and a commitment from all participants to keep one thread on one political event alive, rather than starting a new thread every time a new development takes place.
posted by dhammond at 5:17 PM on November 11, 2007 [2 favorites]