Farewell Mr Costello, We Forlornly Presume

AS my exclusive sidebar poll clearly showed, former Treasurer Peter Costello is still the preferred leader of the Liberal Party - retaining a consistent and handy lead over his nearest rival, Malcolm Turnbull. The scientific exactitude of the survey was unfortunately affected by what I'm guessing was gratuitous push-polling by members of Wilson Tuckey's immediate family. But seriously... It is remarkable that Mr Costello has decided to ignore Brendan Nelson's sensible desire for a "Super Saturday" of synchronised by-elections in favour of staying on for several more months. He obviously has a large fan-base amongst Liberal voters, so this delayed departure will only encourage them to believe he's still open to being drafted back. It seems to be a case of dignity preservation - both for himself and, probably more so, those who gave him an election-defying easy run in Higgins last October. It's also ironic that Dr Nelson sees him as a man who can't decide how and when to take his leave. Sound familiar? New poll now up.