The honeymoon continues

Many have joined the “Wish it were so” division as the news that Maxine McKew has nominated for Bennelong hits the media. The ABC managed to extract a statement from former Liberal national president John Valder who tipped John Howard could lose his seat of Bennelong. True, he could but there’s a lot of campaigning between could and did. The ABC’s electoral analyst Antony Green suggests

Prime Minister John Howard should be worried that high-profile media personality Maxine McKew is standing as the ALP candidate in his electorate of Bennelong……

Maybe, but being a talking head high-profile celebrity is a long way from being a believable politician. After all, the other celebrity Garret, isn’t exactly starring. A comment at Matt Price’s blog suggests it leaves Labor open to charges of seeking salvation in celebrity rather than with a battle-hardened, local candidate and he is not a Howard fan. He could be right though. I imagine Peter Costello noticed the nomination with interest but I doubt he’s booked the removalist van to move to the lodge yet. Shaping up to be an interesting battle.