What Tony Abbott and Michael Clarke have in common!

I had a bit of an argument with my parents about Tony Abbott the other day.

I argued at the time: Tony Abbott isn’t, in my personal opinion, an impressive statesman. After so long as a politician, he should have a better grip of diplomacy, personal image and the way he carries himself. I.e. Indonesian phone hacking scandal.

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My thoughts on Obama’s speech at Mandela’s Memorial

Barack Obama’s speech at Nelson Mandela’s Memorial service:
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/FULL-TEXT-Obama-honours-Nelson-Mandela-20131210

….watching it, I got the sense that it was more than just one for the ages. I liked it.

It had all the oratory hallmarks of Obama gold — tactical and extended pausing, eye contact, vocal crescendo peppered with the odd hand gestures. I had forgotten how piercing his eyes were, he seemed almost emotional at times — drawing long breaths as if to contain emotion at one or two points. He seemed quite moved.

These are my highlights and lowlights from his speech:

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