Why Australia prefers political prose to political poetry
Coffee which lives up to that billing, and meals that offer much more than just the representation of food - friends, it is good to be back in the Great Southern Land, even if my car appears to have turned from silver to bronze.
In a week where the region has suffered such unspeakable awfulness, I offer this blog as little more than some light relief. It flows from a trip to Washington, where I have spent the last few days.
With its wide avenues and boulevards, its monumental architecture, and its well-placed sense of self-importance, it is a city which has always inspired and intrigued. And that grandeur is reflected in its politics and statecraft.
So whereas Australian prime ministers travel around in the front seat of a white Holden, a gesture of egalitarianism, American presidents boast multi-vehicle motorcades, the length of which are designed to convey the full measure and majesty of their power.
"Hail to the Chief" greets Barack Obama on his entry into a room, whereas on the rare occasions when Kevin Rudd receives a musical tribute it comes in the form of "Waltzing Maltilda" played at foxtrot pace.
Successful US presidents are memorialised in stone and marble, whereas Aussie PMs might get a suburb named after them in Canberra. Better that than the fate which befell Harold Holt, the prime minister who went missing in the surf. He actually has a memorial swimming pool in Melbourne.
Washington inspires rousing television dramas with stirring background music, like the West Wing. They assume the motives of the main players are honourable and pure. Canberra has produced The Hollowmen, a half-hour comedy where cynicism pervades everything.
US presidents take the oath office on Capitol Hill, one of the most glorious pulpits that America has to offer. Kevin Rudd formally took over as prime minister in a frugal ceremony in the front parlour of the governor general's mansion.
In America, the preference appears to be for large personalities with sometimes epic back-stories. Australians seem happy with leaders who lack charisma and candescence. By the same token, American leaders tend to be more ideological and visionary, while Australians are typically pragmatists. Whereas the Americans hope for greatness, the Australian preference is for competent managerialism.
When I covered the 2007 Australian election campaign, I was surprised that there were not more rallies and razzmatazz. Balloons and bunting were in short supply. But the tradition here is for modesty and understatement.
So aside from the names, the House of Representatives and the Senate, there is not a great deal of "Wash" in Australia's "Washminster" model of government. And I strongly suspect that is the way most people like it.
When it comes to politics, Americans warm to poetry, whereas the Australians have long favoured prose.
UPDATE: Loved all your suggestions on the rebranding of Australia. There appear to be some underemployed copywriters reading this blog. I will pass on the link to Tourism Australia, and, who knows, perhaps you'll be getting a call. Manifest in your comments are most of the traits and qualities which make Australia so attractive to outsiders: the humour, the lack of pretension, the simple beauty of the landscape and that self-confident sense of self-deprecation...
I'm 
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