The most significant development in the election campaign in the past few days has been the emergence of Bill’s Spendometer.

Irrespective of how much his promises on health, Gonski and handouts are going to cost Bill simply loads the figures into his Spendometer which apparently has an automatic funding link with the World Bank.

Economic commentators however remain unconvinced. They believe a Spendometer is only viable when it is linked with an Incomeometer of an equal or larger size. So far there is no sign that Bill intends to produce one which is not all that surprising really because there is no evidence they are actually produced in that size.

Nevertheless there is no question that Bill’s campaign has inherent appeal to anyone whose lifestyle is dedicated to driving the country further into debt.

Malcolm’s call to live within our means is an absolute anathema not only to people with unaffordable lifestyles but also to anyone who thinks the Greens are offering a serious economic plan.

Of course the truth is that all the campaign posturing and promising will become irrelevant once the campaign is over bringing only bitter disillusionment once more to voters who have tragically believed there was something more to them than over-excitement.

Of course it’s quite understandable that Malcolm and Bill will tend to overstate things in their quest to reside at a desirable pad like The Lodge rent-free. And let’s face it this election campaign can be enormously entertaining if you don’t take it too seriously.

However expecting them to deliver on all the promises made in the heat of the moment is like expecting Clive to morph into Moses and lead us to the Promised Land.

The advice from leading members of the Friday Mash Election Think Tank is to keep a sense of perspective midst the escalating promises of plenty. Malcolm and Bill’s promises should not be judged on the expectation of delivery but rather on the style and sincerity with which they are proclaimed.

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