They raised their heads again last week - the good old ''senior sources''.

Their junior counterparts were nowhere to be heard, leaving it to the anonymous sources of superior rank to spell out the latest nuances in the saga - or should that be tragedy? - that the prime ministership has become.

Trying to write this in one sentence is tiring enough. So don't hold your breath, please, while reading it.

This time the senior sources reportedly said that Kevin Rudd's people had been saying that yes, sure, Kevin wants to be prime minister again but he's really not in a hurry and he can't afford to be seen to be pushing for it or he would be viewed as being just as treacherous as Julia, you know, Lady Macbeth, who brutally ''assassinated'' a democratically elected prime minister even though the factional wide-boys convinced her she had no choice but to just go with the moment there and then, so Kevin's happy for her just to carry on until caucus can't stand it any more and then they'll all - even Bill Shorten and Mark Arbib - come to him but now he (Kevin that is - at least, I think that's who they mean) isn't so sure because things are so bad now that she's buggered up the Malaysia solution and that she has absolutely completely lost every skerrick of authority because cabinet is leaking more than those boats trying to reach Christmas Island and when cabinet leaks, even if it's just Kevin leaking against Julia, it's a sure sign that a government is dying, that he might actually have to make a run earlier than expected but that Shor-bib and Co are saying ''over our dead bodies'' and even though they put her there they are now resigned that she's finished and so now, of course, they are trickily putting up some guy called Stephen Smith, who is perhaps best known for introducing his mum and dad to Condy Rice, as a way of blocking the return of Kevin who they ''hate'' and that will probably really work or maybe not but at least it won't be Kevin so they are prepared to burn the place down rather than stand a chance of winning an election with Rudd because they hate him and because the punters are probably stupid enough to vote for some guy with a strange hairline and nice manners because he is neither Julia nor Kevin and certainly not Wayne, and that the upshot of all of this is that while a leadership change was going to probably maybe happen early next year it might yet happen in the ''killing season'' (press gallery for Christmas time) and it could end sooner than later, just maybe perhaps, or then again maybe not at all as it's just possible that nothing will happen after all - or not.

How utterly compelling - the white noise of commentary. You just couldn't make it up.

And we continue to wonder why, even back in the good times (when prime ministers actually used to lead and opposition leaders were inclined to show how they might present as genuine alternatives) people are sickened by politics.

Politics. It almost lost me a week or so ago when some boofhead, who really ought to be banned for life from re-entering the Parliamentary Triangle, labelled the prime minister a ''scrag''. But democracy is a funny thing. So we defend his right to return, whenever he likes, and say it again. Hmmm.

Today the profound anger and the ugliness is palpable within Parliament and throughout what passes for public debate, with its blogging trolls and its bellicose disc jockeys, their hearts seething with white-hot rage, their heads echoing with voices.

Sometimes you have to fear where it will all end. The level of vilification is frightening, especially when the hateful language of public debate (turning on oaths written in blood, on political assassinations, knifings, political deaths and graves) better befits African or Central American despotism circa mid-1970s, than the true core of Australian politics.

Plenty of our elected members, regardless of their political brand, are wondering if a change of leader or even a change of government will restore faith in the institutions of public life or bring new measure to the debate.

Tony Abbott's Liberals believe they will win the next election, no matter who leads Labor.

It's in the bag, they reckon.

Perhaps so.

I just hope whoever ultimately replaces Gillard as PM is spared all of the same hatred, confusion and vilification.

Walking on the vile side