skirting the issue

AAP reports (here)

There are some policy places even Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd won't go.

One is whether his deputy owns a skirt.This "vital" election issue was raised by Bob, a farmer and talkback caller who preceded Mr Rudd in a long interview on the John Laws program on Southern Cross radio on Thursday.

Bob, a professed Liberal voter, said Julia Gillard was a communist, claiming he read that in the rural newspaper The Land, and queried whether she actually owned a skirt.

He also said she would end up running the country while Mr Rudd was off in China jabbering in Mandarin and asked why no Australian flag featured on stage during the Labor campaign launch on Wednesday.

What ever side of politics you are on you should be a little scared to realise that there are people, perhaps a lot of them, who just completely disregard the facts when making up their mind about who to vote for. Worse than this, they don't even begin to realise when they are talking insane rubbish.
It also goes on

Bob also wondered where was the Labor frontbench in place of former Labor prime ministers Gough Whitlam, Bob Hawke and Paul Keating who were all present at the launch.

This at least made me think that there are heroes on the "left" in the way that there are not (currently) on the right. We all know that Malcolm is not a fan of little Johnny, but it is worth opining that John cannot muster the Frasers, the Peacocks, the et al (admittedly some are dead...but even the grand dames (their widows) didn't appear to be present) What this means I am not quite sure.
It is both a plus and a minus, as while Hawke , Keating and Whitlam are indeed significant figures they inspire not only admiration and dignity but also hatred and loathing. Have you ever stood next to a Liberal voter who speaks the word Keating!
To Rudd's credit his response to 'Bob' showed that he is good in choosing not to exploit this sort of meaningless rubbish, in a way that most others would not be able to resist

On the issue of the Labor frontbench, Mr Rudd said he believed it important to show proper respect to the former PMs, adding that all his frontbench were in attendance.

He said he believed it also important to be able to speak to a major trading partner.

"This is really important for Australia.

"If I can use whatever language skills I have go to boost the exports of Australian farmers to major emerging markets like China, let me tell you, I will yabber my way through any lunch speaking whatever language I can," he said.