Thanks to the Crikey reader who sent us this link today, a post from Conservatives4Palin.com entitled ‘Aussies Should Know Better – Craig McMurtrie’s Anti-Palin Piece Ignores Tony Abbott Precedent’.

Written by Adam Brickley — aka ‘ElephantMan’ — in response to an “anti-Palin” piece on The Drum by the ABC’s Craig McMurtrie, he explains to his fellow patriots and Palin fans that “today, Abbott stands on the brink of power”; “the truth is that Tony Abbott is not only electable, but a refreshingly idealistic presence in a political scene full of cold, calculating figures”. He continues:

“Any astute observer of the Australian scene should realize that Abbott 2010 is a preview of Palin 2012 — and so far the prototype is working far better than expected. Unfortunately for the left, neither Abbott nor Palin is inherently unelectable. Both have as good a shot as anyone at leading their respective nations, and I personally am looking forward to both of them being in office — as they will make a great team of allies.”

So there you have it folks, Abbott is a Palin prototype tweezered by US conservatives onto the petri dish that is the Australian political landscape. No doubt our American friends will be keeping our federal election campaign fixed under their microscope to see how this experiment turns out…