Beware the photobomber
You've heard of 'photo-bombing', right? What about 'live cross-bombing'? One of the hazards of reporting live in a public place is that anything can happen.
You could be standing on a street corner in the Queensland city of Mackay in middle of the afternoon reporting on the Prime Minister's visit, when all of a sudden, drunken louts dressed in women's clothing run up to you and start flashing their private parts, yelling and kissing you. That's exactly what happened to several of my colleagues on Monday afternoon.
I was lucky. I positioned myself further away from the intoxicated blokes who appeared to be involved in that time honoured end-of-footy-season ritual, better known as 'Mad Monday'. My biggest hazard was the flock of screeching birds that decided to arc up just as I preparing to talk.
With my story filing commitments complete, it was my turn to sample the local delights. Like Kevin Rudd, I grabbed myself a can of XXXX Gold at the launch of a local Labor candidate's campaign. So began our North Queensland tour, taking in Mackay, Townsville and Cairns. There are few better places in Australia to be during winter!
Having spent last week with Tony Abbott and a few days now with Mr Rudd, it's given me a good opportunity to compare and contrast their styles. Some aspects are the same. Both sides closely guard their itineraries, much to our frustration.
But the Rudd camp does seem to be a little less organised - whether it be simple things like not having transport organised, or changing plans at the last minute.
For example, twice this week camera crews and security guards have been told to prepare for the Prime Minister to go for an early morning walk, and twice they simply waited, and waited - before eventually being told it wasn't going to happen.
The mood amongst Mr Rudd's staff is good. There are no noticeable signs of being worn down, or of being under too much pressure. But there is a contrast between the leaders.
Privately, the Prime Minister is saying all the right things. As Tony Abbott did last week, Mr Rudd had an off-the-record chat with the travelling journos over a drink one night this week. I can't detail the conversation without breaching professional privilege, but it's safe to say he was in good spirits, and sounding confident, as you'd expect.
Publicly tough, the Prime Minister seems a little distracted at times, almost losing his train of thought when speaking publicly. It happened on Tuesday when addressing Diggers at the Lavarack Barracks in Townsville. His pep talk took a bizarre turn when he said "never let anyone talk you down. It's just a lot of rot." There were blank, confused expressions all around. It came from nowhere, and no one had a clue what he was referring to.
On the flip side as last week went on, Tony Abbott appeared to grow in confidence and look quite comfortable. At least, he seemed that way until the last few days.
The liberal leader has delivered a trio of clangers. First on his "suppository of wisdom" gaffe, then his "sex appeal" comment about a female candidate and now his claim that gay marriage is "a fashion of the moment".
Abbott has been so disciplined for so long. To make three howlers in three days appears to show he's getting too comfortable. That's when he makes mistakes. He's in front in the polls now. But with three-and-a-half weeks of campaigning to go, he can't take that lead for granted.
