That's what erked me about Howard getting kicked out
Whenever I asked people why they were gonna vote for Rudd pre-election, all I heard was ridiculous emotional logic like "Howard is too old, we need some younger blood" or "I can't stand his eyebrows" or "He doesn't look like a leader".
Not saying they aren't out there, but there were hardly any Labor voters encountered by myself who voted based on policies and reasoned for the greater good of the country. Those who actually gave me a reason that wasn't out of dislike for Howard's personality were almost always "I'm $10 a week better off under Labor" or "work choices scare me because my boss might sack me, cause bosses love doing that for fun and I'm not that great at my job"; reasons affecting the self and only the self. You know, the kind of people who can't see two feet in front of themselves. I did not encounter anyone who said I'm voting for Labor because they have a real vision for a better Australia nationwide, they're really going to take us places. Now both parties have their evils and both parties have voters out for their own hip pocket, all but the most extreme partisans can agree on that, but f**k me the Labor party has masses of these voters and the party knows it, hence hand out and tax cut is a staple of Labor policy - their own party knows the selfishness and stupidity of many of their voters and play into it. And I don't blame them for it, voting is entirely their choice and some people do believe they should vote for their own interests. Conversely, Liberal staple is a new tax or a budget cut - this may or may not necessarily be a good thing to do, but this is a party appealing to those voters who are more likely to be thinking of a nation's interest as a whole, because you can't really be thinking of yourself if you're accepting a new tax or a budget cut and voting for this party.
So let's forget what he parties actually do for a second and focus on stereotypical voter rationale...ask ourselves which voter is more likely to produce a result for the betterment of a nation as a whole, and which is likely to take a bribe to hand over the reigns, based on their rationale...
I usually vote liberal in case you didn't cop the hint.