Al Jolson for Prime Minister

One of the most fascinating things that have emerged from this election campaign is Julia Gillard’s hands. This may sound a bit weird but when we look at her speaking style pre and post her ascension to the office of Prime Minister there is a marked difference. Why is this worthy of an entire blog? Well, you know the quality of this campaign so I won’t say anymore…

Watching Gillard’s performance at the Labor Party launch today brought back some fond memories. It reminded me of the time that I saw a musical about Al Jolson at the Capitol Theatre. Al Jolson, the famous black face jazz singer, was well known for his live performances of “Mammy” with his excellent jazz hands. These same jazz hands were out in force today with our acting Prime Minister. In the short 30 second grab they showed of her speech I counted nearly a dozen individual hand movements that can be categorized as follows:
-Left jab
-Right jab
-Jazz hands
-Double jab left
-Double jab right
-Thumb back

Next time you see her talk try doing a running commentary on her hand movements. It’s even more fun when speaking to someone else and makes the repetitive nature of her words (moving forward, lets have another debate, you’ll wake up with Tony, yes we can – no I mean yes we will) more bearable.

More importantly, it gave me some ideas for Tony Abbott’s next announcement. Known for his love of cycle and all things exercise, maybe Abbott can do his policy announcements on an exercise bike or incorporate the following hand gestures:
-The swim
-The jog
-The Muhammad Ali

So as we head to Saturday lets hope for a plethora of new hand gestures to generate further interest in this insipid campaign.