Howard Wins! With The Bush Doctrine!

Australia's Coalition, led by Prime Minister John Howard, a staunch supporter of the American effort in Iraq, won a resounding victory today in national elections widely viewed as a referendum on foreign policy.

You might not hear much about this in the mainstream media. But it's of note for the several parallels to the upcoming US elections:

1. The govt supported and participated in toppling Saddam and installing democracy.

2. The opposition in both countries was straddling positions, trying to be both for the war and against it at the same time.

3. Polls in Australia showed a neck-and-neck race often described as too close to call (instead, Howard not only won, his party actually increased their share of the vote, their margin of victory, and the number of seats they won).

Come to think of it, maybe those parallels are the reason you haven't heard much of this. Honestly now, if a staunch Bush supporter had lost, do you think it would still be such a non-story? Dan Rather should investigate.