For John Howard to get to any high moral ground he would have to first climb out of the volcanic hole he's dug for himself over the last decade. You know, it's like one of those deep diamond mined holes in South Africa, you know, they're about a mile underground. He'd have to come a mile up to get to even equilibrium, let alone have any contest in morality with Kevin Rudd.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Keating argues Howard has created such a deep political mess that he cannot claim moral superiority over Rudd without first rectifying his past actions.
- In plain terms
- Howard needs to fix his own mistakes before he can criticize others.
- What can you take from it?
- Credibility requires cleaning up your own track record first.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Has the speaker addressed their own past failures?
- Is moral ground attainable after significant errors?
Another view
The metaphor assumes the audience agrees on what constitutes the 'volcanic hole'.
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