Even by today's standards, godless, childless 'Ju-liar' cops more than her fair share.

Many Australians believe politics to be an ideological cesspool. It's little wonder: Labor hasn't represented working people since Bob Hawke held office, and the Liberal Party hasn't espoused liberal values since Malcolm Fraser. Both major parties effectively ceased to exist decades ago.

Adding insult to injury, the most ferocious criticism of the parties has come from former insiders. These days Graham Richardson makes a quid bagging Labor, while Fraser extols progressive social values diametrically opposed to those of the party he once led. Politics has become a form of reality television wherein debate has been replaced by debasement, where insult has replaced insight.

Inside this mess, no single political figure has copped more vitriol than Julia Gillard. She seems purpose-built for invective. There's the way she speaks. There's the fact she didn't seem to mind who she knifed to get to the top. She's also godless, childless and unmarried, not to mention a ranga. And despite Gillard's modest gain in the polls recently, it's clear many people still consider her prime ministership to be illegitimate.

All this helps to explain the disrespect heaped upon Gillard and why Alan Jones feels he can call her ''Ju-liar'' with impunity. It explains why Murdoch columnist Glenn Milne thought he could rehash a bogus story suggesting Gillard had profited from a financial fraud. It explains why the ABC felt justified in running At Home with Julia, an execrable comedy depicting a shrill PM disgracefully cohabiting in The Lodge with a dimwit de facto.

Even the ageing lefties despise her. On her ascendance to PM, left-wing icon Phillip Adams resigned from the Labor Party and publicly implored Gillard to quit for the sake of Labor's electoral future. Earlier this year, playwright David Williamson tried to character-assassinate Gillard on Crikey.com.au, calling her a bad actor; a sham and a ham. He even denied her a personality.

As Labor PMs go, Gillard is unusual: she doesn't behave like an overwrought egomaniac. Her predecessors Whitlam, Hawke, Keating and Rudd were and are self-obsessed and supercharged, happiest when showing off. You won't find Gillard bragging about her knowledge of ancient Rome, her sporting prowess, her love of Mahler's symphonies, or her ability to speak Mandarin. And thank God for that.

Gillard is our first female PM and the first down-to-earth Labor PM in living memory. For many, Gillard's chief sin is her perceived ordinariness, her almost total lack of affectation. Surely this is something to celebrate and, by rights, these earthy qualities should appeal to rather than repel the electorate.

It has been fashionable to rubbish Gillard but this ignores her many strengths. Her appearances on The Project and Q&A attest to her considerable personal warmth and her dry sense of humour. With all the invective hurled at her she remains the embodiment of grace under pressure. At the APEC forum, she was every bit the confident and accomplished PM. Her rapport with Barack Obama was palpable; their easy banter and open body language made them seem political equals.

Many argue Gillard doesn't stand for anything. Really? There's much to admire in her dogged quest to price carbon and introduce a mining tax. Although these policies have been watered down, they are tentative steps in the right direction, a recognition that big business must be socially responsible.

The flood levy was a gutsy move. Naturally the levy was pooh-poohed by Tony Abbott, who seems unable to understand the role of public revenue in building a civilised society. Although some voters are unhappy with the levy, such a measure is a praiseworthy act of social justice to help rebuild parts of Queensland after the floods.

Gillard's wit is underrated. You've got to love her hilarious advice to journalists at the National Press Club in July: ''Don't write crap. It can't be that hard.'' It was an arresting response to a question about the role of ethics in reporting. It was also a brave thing to say in a roomful of journalists. If Paul Keating had uttered that line, it would have been immortalised as the chorus of a song in Keating! The Musical.

Let's not forget Gillard's considerable daring in taking on Alan Jones, the kingmaker who practically humped John Howard's leg whenever that PM stopped by for a chat. On-air in February, Gillard capably defended herself from Jones' relentless attack on her over the proposed carbon tax.

She called out Jones' demagoguery for what it was: ''Are you going to let me give people the truth or are you going to insist on your lies?'' Jones has been crying out for a bollocking on his own show for years. Gillard gave us that. Again, if it had been Keating, it would have gone down as a defining moment.

It's fascinating to see Gillard's approval ratings on the rise. Is this the start of an improbable comeback, or just a momentary blip in an inevitable decline until voters finally embrace Abbott?

Whoever's in charge, is there really any difference between Labor and Liberal anyway? Don't both parties roll over for big business and pander to inherent racism by demonising asylum seekers? Gillard isn't the terrible leader many believe her to be. The real problem is our political system. It's broken down and keeps failing us.

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/grace-under-pressure-20111204-1oddl.html