Wednesday, January 19, 2005
MAYBE MORE NOBLENESS
Margo Kingston is moved to Tennyson-level sadness by Mark Latham’s departure:
Mark Latham gave a doorstop in his Western Sydney electorate today. He read a statement and took no questions. His hair seemed to tell the story. Best of luck, Mark. Tis harder, and maybe more noble, to seek a goal with determination and fail than to make the same commitment and succeed. It is a tragedy for Australia as well as for Mark Latham that his health has forced his departure from public life.
In 2002, Kingston condemned Latham as the “antithesis of the progressive vision”. She would have been quite happy, three years ago, to see him forced from public life. Latham subsequently won Kingston over by pandering to idiot anti-US prejudices.
But let’s not focus on Margo’s easily-earned endorsement. Let’s look instead at this line:
Tis harder, and maybe more noble, to seek a goal with determination and fail than to make the same commitment and succeed.
Given that the “same commitment” of “determination” was exercised regardless of success or failure, we may erase those terms. Which leaves us with:
Tis harder, and maybe more noble, to seek a goal and fail than to succeed.
It’s harder to fail than succeed. Mark Latham is a winner!
UPDATE. Margo continues grieving:
Mark Latham’s first life dream has gone. Australia has lost one of its finest and most idealistic politicians, the bloke who took on the system and broke the rules and lost. Labor has lost it’s high stakes gamble and seems to be freefalling - into what? Noone knows.
Reader guinsPen points to the man who knows. Maybe he knows how apostrophes work. As for Latham taking on the system and breaking the rules ... what rules did he break? The taxi driver arm rule? Which system did he take on? His digestive system?
UPDATE II. In comments to readers, Margo lashes out:
Howard is the biggest hater is politics. Just ask his colleagues over the years.
How about you ask them, Margo? And then tell us all about it. Next, she smears General Peter Cosgrove:
My speculation is that he couldn’t handle the politics of the job. There’s also the possibility that he is close to being exposed on something, eg the Abu Grahib coverup, or the coverup of the cutting of intelligence links to our soldiers on the ground in East Timor.
Couldn’t handle the politics of the job, eh Margo? You can’t handle a lame three-day-per-week website.
UPDATE III. A Margo scoop:
Julia Gillard is not a lesbian.
UPDATE IV. The Wogblogger offers her view on Latham’s exit:
If I had tits that bad I’d kill myself.