Australia PM's Epic Rant on Sexism Wins High Praise

'Badass' Julia Gillard take down political foe
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 9, 2012 7:34 PM CDT

What has to be the most viewed political video of the day has nothing to do with Mitt Romney, Barack Obama, or even Big Bird. It is Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's 15-minute takedown of a political rival she views as sexist. "If he wants to know what misogyny looks like in modern Australia, he doesn't need a motion in the House of Representatives, he needs a mirror," she says of opposition leader Tony Abbott.

  • Jezebel loves it, and Tracie Egan Morrissey provides some background on what set off the "badass" Gillard.
  • "No matter what you think of her politics, there’s much to admire" here, writes Alex Massie at the Spectator. "Abbott does not look amused. But then he’s just been carved to pieces so he wouldn’t, would he?"
  • It's "great fun" as political theater, writes Amelia Lester at the New Yorker. But maybe part of the reason it's resonating in America is that Obama supporters hope their man learns a lesson on calling out an opponent.
  • "If only the US could borrow Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard to take on Congress’s misogynist caucus," writes Natasha Lennard at Salon.
  • The Sydney Morning Herald has the transcript here and a roundup of other reaction here.
(More Australia stories.)

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