Hockey's copped the barrage relatively well, but that doesn't mean he's performed as a treasurer. He has nothing of value to say, even anything offensive to the left - he's just a white noise generator of cliches.
As Greg Combet said of him in his Melbourne Cup form guide - "not up to group 1 racing."
It's a statement of fact that John Howard persuaded Malcolm to stay on, on the understanding that he was 'next in line' when Abbott fell over.
I doubt he imagined Abbott would look so uneasy on his feet so soon.
