It's all still in the balance.

If Labor lose, it will be the culmination of a series of misguided policies (or non-policies) going back three years.

1. They should have opposed Australia's participation in the invasion of Afghanistan on the basis that the then government of that country could have been subjected to international pressure and persuasion to hand over Osama. It might not have worked, but has the invasion produced Osama?

2. They should have opposed Australia's participation in the invasion of Iraq on the grounds that Australia should go in if necessary to support the UN, but not the US.

3. They should have made a lot more noise about the Guantanamo Bay detainees' being held without trial as criminals and without the status of POWs. In particular they could have seized on Howard's remarks that the detainees would get a fair trial and then be brought back to Australia to serve their sentences. This whole thing has so many legal and moral flaws it is difficult to know where to begin. The presumption of innocence is a good start.

4. They should have flogged to death the point that Howard says he is running the country, but his decisions are being made on the basis of informaton given by his advisers. Given the number of times he has used "bad information" as an excuse for his failings, it would appear that the country is being run by his advisers, because they decide what information he is going to use to make decisions.

5. In more recent times, they should have been attacking his claims to be a responsible economic manager.   How could he produce a Budget in May that is now being blown out of the water by the election promises he is making?

6. His fiscal record is wide open to criticism, too. In September, only four months after the Budget, we were told that GST collections will be $2.6 billion more than forecast. That's a hell of a variation in a very short time - he must have been poorly advised again.

7. We will have Peter Costello for PM within twelve months if the Liberals are re-elected. Labor have touched this, but they should have flogged it.

How are those for starters? All Labor have done in the election campaign seems to ignore the fact that Oppositions don't win elections, Governemnts lose them. Labor should have been aware that this election campaign started as soon as the last election was over, but they have been so lost in their own navel gazing that all these opportunities have gone begging.

I still hope they win, though - I can't stomach Howard, and I will laugh like a drain if he misses the opportunity to become Australia's second-longest-serving Prime Minister after his hero, Bob Menzies.