Has Rudd bought the intelligentsia?

Gushing references to Rudd appear throughout Manne's recent writing. To paraphrase Jim Cairns when speaking of Junie Morosi it would appear that Manne has "a kind of love" for Kevin Rudd.

Robert Manne has edited a book that goes by the title Dear Mr Rudd, which includes a nifty cover photo of the subject to boot; like many a cover page of Manne's The Monthly. One wonders what Manne's new "perfect editor", a devotee of psychoanalysis, would make of this. Perhaps Freud was onto something after all.

I propose that the second edition of Dear Mr Rudd should be more accurately entitled; Dear Mr Rudd, Can I Please Kiss Your Ass?

Despite the allusion to Freud, Australia's intellectuals more likely mute their criticism of Kevin Rudd on material grounds. The promise of greater university funding and the appearance of having a seat at the table of power, provided by the 2020 Summit for instance, has seen Rudd largely buy the intelligentsia. Because intellectuals are some of the most cynical and contemptible people in society when Rudd disappoints them on both scores, as it seems he will given that appeasing big business matters more for him, we should not be in the least bit surprised when the intellectual classes start dumping on him.

We might form a conjecture towards explanation of our contrast. Australia's intellectuals, for the most part, did not oppose Howard on moral grounds. John Howard did not like them, never did like them, and gave them nothing. Rudd promises real benefits. Hence the contrast.