Elements of the left thought it just fine to describe Sales in abusive and sexist terms because her grilling of Abbott did not meet their expectations. It's not OK, yet the debate rolled on for most of the week sending mixed messages about what the left is up to right now. Have they resorted to antics more often employed by the far right? Sales was accused, in some instances with very vile language, of being too easy on Abbott and even biased towards him. How soon they forget. Last August Sales had Abbott not only on the ropes, but flat out on the mat and wishing for an early end to the bout. During the August interview, Sales got Abbott to admit he hadn't read a BHP statement he wrongly claimed was blaming the carbon tax for the suspension of the Olympic Dam mining project. Abbott haters were more than pleased with that exchange, leaving the right angry and feverishly circulating their own nasty claims of bias.

But now it's the left that is furious. The commentary says more, however, about where the left is at psychologically as a movement. Facing the likelihood of a conservative government and a Prime Minister Abbott, parts of the left have taken to desperate gutter tactics. They seem to be now insisting that media interviewers push their cause and help prevent a Coalition victory in September. Meanwhile, Julia Gillard's ability to win over the electorate remains far from where she and her party would like it to be, but Labor MPs have mostly resolved they must now fall in behind her. As obvious a statement as that might be, it is only over this past week that most inside Labor have reached that conclusion.

Just two weeks ago there were rumblings Gillard would be facing renewed leadership pressure before the election. The possibly honourable, but certainly kamikaze move by Simon Crean last month in calling for a spill sent him to the backbench. But it also fuelled speculation he would throw his own hat into the leadership ring in the near future. Even as Gillard's new frontbenchers were moving into their ministerial offices, word was getting around to some that their reward for loyalty to the PM would not last long. They were not referring to the likelihood of losing government in September, the message was that a post-budget leadership challenge was on the cards and the old frontbench would be back to reclaim some jobs. The leadership contender? None other than Crean. That's what the previous Rudd backers and some wider anti-Gillard ALP forces were planning.

They considered Crean would be a ''safe pair of hands'' after a budget they expect won't go down too well with voters. It seems cooler heads have prevailed, probably with the realisation that if Crean couldn't mobilise numbers behind Rudd, he most likely wouldn't be able to muster up a majority for himself. At least voting Australians now have another choice, thanks to Queensland's billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer, who declared on Friday he wanted to be Australia's next PM. But then said he didn't. Chances are he won't.