"and the Howard custodian period."yes, "custodian" is the word....

"and the Howard custodian period."

yes, "custodian" is the word.

"But you just cant type cast ... the previous Whitlam Govt was an abject ...."

yes, I agree. We can't and shouldn't type cast. A Rudd government may perform up to expectations or it may not, but we still do have a democratic system here and alsways vote him out the next time unless someone is saying a Rudd government will turn Australia into a dictatorship.