In the Gutter, Shit Happens

Yesterday, Tony Abbott's office received a request for comment from Channel 7 with regards to something he said in Afghanistan last year. They agreed to an interview and two and a half hours later, on the grass outside Parliament house Mark Riley, that shining beacon of fair reporting, pulled out his metaphorical knife and began practice-stabbing.

The result was one of those moments that every politician dreads, when a journalist says: "I've got some footage I'd like you to watch." Riley produced edited footage of Abbott in Afghanistan, uttering the phrase "shit happens" while talking about the death of an Australian soldier, Riley then bluntly insinuated that he (Abbott) was making light of the situation. Abbott said it was out of context (it was an edited video after all), Riley proceeded to ask what the context was and the result was: silence.

Silence.

Abbott appeared to be in a trance. Rocking back and forth, quietly willing Mark Riley's head to explode. From the angle Channel 7 aired he appeared to have had a stroke, but from Riley's point of view it was the death stare to end all death stares. It was a combination of embarrassment, speechlessness and unrelenting fury.

I don't have a lot of time for Tony Abbott. I think he's a cynical, opportunistic bastard with a bit of a nasty streak. His position on asylum seekers makes me sick. Post-election, he has acted with supreme arrogance, like he leads the Government in exile. He is a Howard zealot, and if he ever becomes Prime Minister I will strongly consider leaving. But, this is bullshit. This is a beat-up and Mark Riley should hang his head in shame.

His hypocrisy is astounding.

"Hey Mr Abbott, do you think the widow will be offended by this video WE'VE shown? What do you have to say to the widow who will be offended by this video WE'VE shown and are now insisting you talk about? Will you apologise? Because you've clearly offended her…via us of course, but we're only reporting on the video we dug through and edited after waiting months for an FOI application. It wasn't what we were actually looking for, but we saw this part and thought 'Hey, do you think the widow might find that offensive? Let's ask her and see if she does.'"

Abbott phoned Jared MacKinney's widow and apologised. She accepted his explanation and said there is no issue. If she doesn't have a problem then nor should you.

What I suspect will be most damaging to Abbott is not the comment, but the stare. That aggro, deathly stare will haunt him forever. His judgement will be questioned, as will that of his staff. Mark Riley will sleep soundly of course, satisfied that he has made the world a better place.