I could have been PM.
I wanted to be PM.
Unfulfilled ambition some say.
End of a dream some say.
Some say a lot about could have beens. What if I had of challenged Howard? What if I Howard had of stepped down? What if I had of snatch leadership. What if I was the victor? What if I was the PM of Australia. I lead Australia through crisis and through crisis. I lead Australia out of debt. That is no debt. That is leadership. You can insult me, but you will never understand my paradox. I am the good son. I have ethics. I have morals. I am proud. I have not exploited my position of power. I have not enriched or misused my entitlement of power. I have no scandles attached to my name. There is no dirt to my name. Forget honest John I am Peter the rock. The curse all Peter's must endure. It is a death foretold.
I left because the decision was mine and I made it. You can decide if it is your loss. You can decide whether it is your gain.
I have been described as the poor man's Keating. What I have to say is Brrrrrrrrr.
I have the best smirk. I have the smirk of all time. I smirk because I know. You may see butterflies but I see elephants.
I have tolerated being called a dope. I have been called a moron and I have been called a whimp. In my twilight days I sat on the back bench smarmy and smirking and unctuous and smug. I sat there from the moment Howard kicked sand in my face. But I turned the other cheek. Despite my outer persona of seeming arrogance, I am a sensitive and self-questioning man. So to all those great aussie knockers who called me a pissweak, smartarse wanker get of your behinds and do something worthwhile. Do something that benefits Australia.
Keating may have called me a shiver looking for a spine but I was generally trying to do the best that I could. Sometimes I made a decision that in the hindsight was bad but I made the decision because it had to be done. I was needed because we need someone who can make order our society. It maybe a bad job, but someone's got to do it. And I won't spend the rest of my life justifying a limited reign
