true though i think rudd was sort of smart for once deciding to not attack him (although he sort of indirectly did through gillard) because i was expecting to turn on the news and hear some retarded pun (which phony tony it ended up being) coming out of his mouth. was sort of surprised that he restrained himself.
you could sort of tell what abbott was trying to say, not that he doesn't tell the truth when he speaks impromptu but sometimes he gets a bit heated and might go a tad overboard. everyone does it, it's called exaggeration.
That was exactly the message he conveyed, and it was a bad one; Albanese and Gillard may have been accusing him of dishonesty but the question they got the electorate to ask is whether Abbott is capable of showing restraint, of keeping his emotions in check where appropriate, is he as stable and sound as we like our prime ministers to be? The comment didn't help his image on those things but it will quickly be forgotten as new stories move to the fore.
The labor party should be looking to land bigger and more contemporary blows on him now, for example lampooning his tendency to recite Paul Keatings old lines over and over again rather than come up with a few of his own. On a similar token Abbott should be looking to move foreward, accepting the bit of damage the quote did but aiming to make real improvements to his campaign, for example he could start developing some of his own lines instead of just reciting ones Paul Keating used to use.
Also I think you'll find it has long been Rudd's style to leave attacks like that to high profile ministers, not wanting to look too bitter or partisan, floating in gently when a great chance comes along before drifting out again.