Upset In Australia

Long-time U.S. ally and outspoken jihad critic Prime Minister John Howard of Australia was unseated in last week's election.

Look for the MSM to trumpet Howard's defeat as a defeat for Bush and the War on Terror.

But, the reality is a bit different. Though a great friend of the U.S. fell out of power, the replacement, Kevin Rudd, is likely to follow many of the same foreign policies. The Australian economy has been good for years, and there was no real discontent or anger with Howard; Rudd is considered to have run on a platform of 'similar difference', not putting forth substantial policy differences, but looking better by mastering focus groups and utilizing buzz words to their fullest effect. It appears that many voters were simply tired of Howard and unexcited by Howard's heir-apparent, Treasurer Peter Costello.

History shows a strong ally in Australia regardless of who the PM is, so hopefully that will remain.

There's my two cents.