Yesterday's hero

Looking as though butter wouldn't melt in his mouth, we saw the interview with Mark Latham on Lateline last night. Now Latham used to appear on that program on Friday nights before he was leader. A tongue-in-the-cheek stoush with Liberal wannabe Chris Pyne was always amusing watching. Latham was there because he was seen to be a hard-hitter, a strong man, someone who could land a punch. As indeed was Pyne.
Not so last night. He obviously wanted us to believe that butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. Clean-shaven, newly showered, open-necked shirt; were we to believe that Mark had turned over a new leaf. He was on one level restrained and even a little self-deprecating.
To my mind it doesn't quite wash.
As the interview went on he condemned person after person: principally Beazely,but also his former patron, Whitlam (a risk, as many Laborites think of him as St Gough the Wrongly Done By, who led Labor out of the wilderness and who though he is not the deity himself is nevertheless a close personal relation!), Keating...countless others (Hawke, surprsingly went by unscathed).
Even though Latham apparently took the blame for the recent election defeat he seriously qualified his responsibility by then adding...of course there were advisers, advertising committees, campaign managers etc.etc. who I never even met with.
Now forgive me but all this rather sounds like...It's all everyone else's fault, I may be a little to blame but even that is really someone else's fault....I just don't find that convincing. And I suspect no one else will.