Can you measure a man by the jokes he tells? Perhaps.

PM John Howard has contributed just one gag to Laugh Even Louder, a joke book being compiled to support the children’s cancer charity Camp Quality. ”Great Jokes from Great Aussies!” is the pitch. And from the PM. Let’s see, a Pom an American an Aussie and an Arab walk into a bar? No. Why the long face? Nup. Now we can all get some sleep?

No. Here it is, the PM’s favourite joke:

A man is sitting at home when he hears a knock at the door. He opens the door and sees a snail on the porch. He picks up the snail and throws it as far as he can. Three years later, there’s a knock on the door. He opens it and sees the same snail. The snail looks up and says, ‘What the heck was that all about?’. 

A joke. A joke that became an entire political philosophy. It’s the way he tells ’em.