In 1997, accusing the ABC of 'too narrow a spectrum of views' on political and social issues, John Howard said: 'It is one of my criticisms of the ABC that it doesn't have a right-wing Phillip Adams.' But the problem is that a right-wing Phillip Adams - someone with his capacity to talk intelligently on such a breadth of topics - is not easily imaginable in contemporary Australia.

The ABC has become a symbol to the Liberals of their loss of a constituency which was once their own. Ever since the intelligentsia defected to Labor with the coming of Whitlam, Liberals have viewed the ABC with suspicion.

The progressive middle class is now more likely to oppose the Liberal Party than support it; the people who shae Howard's views are more likely to be listening to the shock jocks of talk-back radio than to the ABC. This is not necessarily an electoral problem but it is a marked shift in the party's historical position.

Menzies would never have said, as Howard did shortly before the 2001 election: 'I am scorned by the elites and held in such disdain.'

JUDITH BRETT quoted in The Australian 21july04

The Prime Minister's political trip to Iraq set some worrying precedents

It was the two-up game that did it. When John Howard tossed the coins in front of the diggers, the moment looked as camera-friendly as the famous George Bush entrance with the turkey. Howard's secret dash to Baghdad was his most blatant exploitation yet of the Anzac tradition. Of course he should visit troops, but the manner and timing of this trip were as political as he could get.

Secrecy might have been necessary on security grounds until the PM landed, but it was also useful on other grounds. It gave the Government the excuse to limit and hand-pick the journalists and media organisations it took. Reporters were approached directly; editors were bypassed. The Nine Network, the Government's favourite, was invited to provide both camera crew and producer. The ABC might be the national broadcaster but it didn't get a look in.

Michelle Grattan The Age 28apr04