as I was in the midst of the Black Saturday bushfire tragedy, in fact am still in the midst of the repercussions, (in which 173 people lost their lives, a tally which could have well included four members of my own close family, but for 3 minutes when by some miracle they escaped their house inferno,) I am hardly devoid of empathy.
But thanks for the quickly drawn opinions by those condemning me and MY character.
As usual with Labor supporters, it's OK to attack me, but not OK to question the Gillard sympathy levels (as many in the press have already done, when comparing her reactions to Bligh!)
As you may have read, I qualified my criticism. As someone has pointed out, Hilary Clinton also resorted to the tears tactic - and many women over history have done it very successfully.