That’s very different from what political blogging was like in the Howard era. And that raises a broader question – why is there such a disconnect between the state of political journalism and anything that anyone actually cares too much about in the Rudd era? I think there are possibly two answers to that question.

The first is that a managerialist government deliberately downplays the politics of governing, and Rudd himself usually avoids sharpening the edges of any political knives, leaving the Liberals hoist on their own petard. This is classic state Labor style, and I still don’t think either the Liberal “strategists” or the commentariat get it. Effectively, if all the colour and movement is on the opposition side – leadership squabbles, hyperbolic pronouncements, noisy personal attacks, they get to fill the space of “politics” in the public mind – to the extent that anyone pays any attention to them at all, it’s a big turnoff. While the government looks calm and unruffled. Waiting for Costello might be a fun game for the meejah to play, but most Australians couldn’t give a flying freak.

Secondly, I think Rudd has us all fairly relaxed, if not entirely comfortable. The message that a lot of what goes on in the economy isn’t within the government’s control has been sold well – and the “we know what’s happening and we’re trying our best” mantra is a lot more effective a line than the Liberal expectations disappointed stuff. In the absence of job insecurity, and with a largely still robust labour market (at least among the swinging voters that count), the arcane disputes about the significance of the numbers don’t matter – that’s one big lesson from last year. I suspect that the pressure is now off with the change in the direction of rates, and I also suspect that there’s a psychological factor at work where the same people are paying off debt and feeling good about doing so after all the debt driven splurges of the Howard era cheap credit boom. And no one cares if the banks or big retailers complain about their profit margins – it’s incredibly bad pr and it’s playing into Swan’s hands.

As far as the political circus goes, I think it’s back at the level of a minority pastime in the Rudd era. I suspect that swinging voters were reacting as much against Howard’s hyper-politicisation of everything as anything else last year – constant rabbits out of hats, ranting and raving by Ministers, everything bar getting on with the job in the public mind. Rudd’s found the right point at which people are probably relaxed about it all, if not entirely comfortable with every aspect of their personal financial position.