One recent Thursday morning, the typically frenetic scurrying at Edgecliff train station subsided.

An awed silence consumed the platforms, as the big screen sets beamed the words of victory and concession from the two U.S presidential candidates to the world. Australians, by the hundreds, stared, captivated by the measured words, safe in the knowledge that they could watch in peace ' there of course being no chance of a train turning up on time to spoil the view.

Only weeks earlier, we'd witnessed a similar election, albeit on a smaller scale ' a conservative government consolidating its position in a polarised electorate after a long and expensive campaign. With one glaring difference however, the campaign rally.

As Rob Sitch commented on The Panel the night before calm descended on Edgecliff station, U.S presidential candidates enthralled thousands of supporters every day. In Australia however, you might have a thousand on the first day, a hundred on the next and a few hung'over journos on the third. It was a moment of insight from The Panel, unfortunately all too infrequent in recent years as Kate (the stupid panellist) has been given free reign to bellow idiocy over the rest of her talented ensemble.

Where were those commuters, held so intransigently by the words of Bush and Kerry, weeks before during our own political decision'making process? Sure, there was the guy in the rat suit, welcoming Latham at the cannery, and Howard in the trades hall in Tassie being welcomed by unionist loggers, but where were the brass bands, the confetti and the celebrity endorsements? Admittedly I'd consider turning up to a rally if it would legitimise my walking around with a placard that says ...I'm voting for more Bush,... but I'm sure the Christian Right in the U.S don't go for double entendres.

I did suffer the distraction of every lamp post in Wentworth being covered by the smiling face of 'Not a ...Patch... on the ...Man... who would be ...King... ', but it certainly didn't encourage me the way Sheryl Crow or the Boss would have for a Democrat vote. One can only wonder what will happen in 2008 when Hillary and Arnie lock horns, not quite the recent movie clash of Predator vs Alien but the predator will be a common theme' the Democratic candidate will be married to one and the Republican candidate will have blown one up in the jungle (speaking of which, when is another Predator cast member turned pollie ' Jesse Ventura ' going to have a tilt at higher office?).

Perhaps we will have our own rumble in the jungle, if as many expect, Labor burn the ...Midnight Oil... over the next few years and thrust Peter Garrett to prominence, and similarly if, despite the best efforts of the Liberals, Malcolm Turnbull obtains similar prominence.

Keating would call it "the campaign we had to have." There would be music and celebrity status involved though we would have "Diesel and Dust" rather than brass bands playing Dixie. The troops may have pulled out of Iraq and been re'deployed in Iran, with this millennium's Crusaders hailing from Ohio. I'll bring the confetti.

Just hope that the trains aren't running on time, or we'll miss the speeches...