Kristina's killer heels start the march to the Opal Office

Kristina Keneally may have lost a State but she has gained a Nation.

That's my take on the slash and burn results of last weekend's NSW election and Keneally's announcement that she would not be contesting leadership of the local Labor Party.

She should slip into those killer heels she wears and start the meet'n'greet march asap to the Opal Office. Yes, Kristina can do Canberra. I'd like to see that. I'm not on my pat malone either.

If she's not thinking about it, she should be. If the Labor Party is not thinking about it, it should be.

If Bill is not feeling a bit nervous about Kristina shortening the odds of him ever being sworn in before his mother in law, the very model of a modern Governor General, he should be.

And so should the other architects of the failed Gillard Experiment, like Senator Don Farrell, David Feeney, and Mark Arbib, America's little spy guy in Oz.

These dudes may very well rue the day they boasted of what has now transpired to be a triumph of dill over will. And, of course, the little red-headed girl herself is already nervous.

I think that if push came to shove between Kristina and Julia, you would find the gentlemen prefer blonde. And we're not talking small beer here.

When Keneally assumed leadership of the NSW Labor Party, she did so knowing full well

she was about to swill from a poisoned and ungilded chalice. That takes a strong constitution and signals a propensity to bring it on.

Even her frenemies acknowledged her relentless energy and enthusiasm during the campaign.

At his Victory speech, Barry O'Farrell acknowledged that Keneally was "a skilled communicator" and "energetic campaigner" and referred to 'Hawkie's' decription of her as "a gutsy performer."