News is only going to get worse for Labor though. If we go further into recession, it'll look like they haven't done anything or the stimulus packages were a useless waste of money. If we recover, hindsight and Coalition representatives will both bring doubt upon whether Rudd got us into debt for nothing.
Time is Rudd's worst enemy at the moment, as Turnbull and co. rally around the "excessive debt" banner and the full effects of the stimulus packages can be thoroughly analysed and debated, both of which will slowly cast doubt upon whether they were worth it. This doubt may not be founded on anything, but it will still exist.
Be that as it may time will also bring some helpfor Rudd. At the moment the coalition are happy to stick by Turnbull, as the election draws nearer and the polls aren't closing fast enough that is when the so called experts will start talking about blood in the water. Nothing good comes from it.
Contemplate this for a moment, well into the GFC Rudd and his funster mates were still getting up to the dispatch box and insisting with gusto that they would not go into deficit. In the blink of an eye they went from admitting a temporary deficit may be neccessary, to acquiring the biggest deficit in history. If this kind of borrowing was neccessary why would the government have fought so hard to deny they needed a deficit? If say 17 billion or less was what was required perhaps but 58? Someone cynical might suggest they are playing politics with the countries finances.
Yes a few hundred million, maybe a couple of billion extra in interest will need to be paid, but by overborrowing now it might be possible to say in 2010, five months out from an election announce that the budget defict has been reduced to just 12 billion and that their projections have the budget being balanced by the 2011-12 budget. And Kevin can get up in the parliament and shout that the nation can be so happy with the state of the budget because "this government chose to be proactive and take positive action rather than the oppositions proposal which was to do nothing."
Compare such a scenario to say a twenty five billion deficit this year, another thirty next year and another twenty five the year after that. Not so politically appealing. This is a classic lower expectations dramatically then appear to sweep towards the election with juggernaut momentum.
For the plebs who don't like my long posts:
-Rudd borows more money then he needs
-Rudd doesn't actually spend it per se he hides it in long term nothing projects
-Rudd moves the hidden money around in subsequent budgets so he can reduce the deficit considerably in an election year
-It looks to the common observer that the government has taken massive strides towards economic recovery, beyond what anyone thought possible.