Coming at the end of another bad week for the hapless Gillard Government, Kevin Rudd's appearance on national TV was not notable for whether or not he ruled out a return to the federal leadership.
What mattered was that his "I'm Kevin, humble backbencher, here to help get the Government re-elected" performance only served to demonstrate how hopeless Gillard and Swan's efforts to sell the government have been.
Rudd was more articulate, and more convincing and, well, more prime minsterial than the current PM and her hopeless deputy.
And the interview conducted in his office with flag in the background etc only served to remind us that he was once a popular PM.
He looked a bit like a leader in exile.
But why did he do it?
Rudd must know that the better his media performances are the worse it is for Gillard and her government.
If he really wanted to help he would stay out of sight.
On the same day, Dr Michael Parkinson, Treasury secretary, also did a much better job at dismissing nonsense in the media about a 'domestic recession', nonsense that re-inforces the Opposition's narrative about a "struggling" economy.
Joe Hockey and the media commentators apparently don't realise that exports are a good thing, and a surge in exports is a sign of economic health. As Parkinson put it:
"Some of the hysteria that's in the press today is really over the top," he said.
"Apparently, if one was logical about this, it would be a good thing if we were, we'd lost competitiveness, we were importing a lot and gross national expenditure was growing rapidly.
Parkinson's efforts highlighted again that it is not just Gillard and Rudd who have ransacked the Labor brand.
The bottom line is that for all its highly paid media management, the Gillard-Swan government has allowed the Abbott-led opposition to pretty much frame the debate in this country for the past few years.
Framing matters because it determines how issues are prioritised and interpreted.
Swan has allowed the Opposition to get away with nonsense about surpluses and debts and 'budget emergencies'.
And that has damaged Gillard as much as her own inept handling of the carbon pricing and asylum seeker issues.
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