Can you believe we've still got five weeks of this to go? Murdoch commentators generally agree that Howard won the first week of this election campaign, while Fairfax journalists reckon it was Latham. Either way, ever get the sense that there isn't a lot being said of substance by anybody at all? Our faltering democracy is locked in a battle of set-pieces and increasingly American style showmanship. Reporters are generally incapable of moving away from the he said/she said dynamic, leaving viewers and readers with the feeling that politicians fundamentally underestimate us, the electorate.

NHJ continues to believe that this election is the most important in our lifetime. As ever, therefore, the most challenging and provocative analysis ain't the mainstream media but online, such as Tim Dunlop's at Road to Surfdom, including this gem on the Murdoch newspapers campaign against the Greens.

It's time like these when we can't simply rely on journalists to do the job for us. Discover the world out there...