In John Howards Australia the likes of Andrew Bolt are always going to attract an audience. The element of Australian society that openly and publicly oppose the policies of the Howard Government have been sufficiently demonised that such "Elites" ( a favourite Howard term of scorn ) as the artistic, the educated ( when anti Howard ), the environmentally concerned and those people left who care about more than their own back pocket are seen as at best, out of touch, or worse...treasonous. To critisise Howard's mob during this period of low interest rates and baby bonuses is to be "Out of touch with real Australia". To do so as one of the "Elites" mentioned above will inevitably earn you an Andrew Bolt column. He is nothing if not predictable.
As a Murdoch columnist ( where else would he get a job ? ) Bolt is fully aware of the readership he is paid to pander to. Bolt has been a willing participant in the jounalistic decline of this once reputable tabloid for some time. In an age when the top selling paper in the country thinks dressing a reporter up as a homeless person and having him beg on the streets of Melbourne in order to show us how these people are "Tapping into the streets of gold" ( a real headline ) shows journalistic integrity and responsibility, Bolt was always going to have his platform. Like the paper he writes for, his columns are shoddy, factually debatable ( at best ), mean spirited and short sighted. He fails to bring any semblance of balance to most of his rants and is a past master of selective quoting of those he is dragging over the coals. Some of the premises he uses to appeal to his more conservatve readership border on the ridiculous. He bagged musician John Butler for lyrics that Bolt regarded as un Australian. He claimed that Casy Donavon's winning of Australian Idol proved that the "elites" were wrong about many Australians being racists( what? ). He also shamefully danced on the grave of Jim Cairns and virtually declared him unworthy of anyones grief. The HERALD-SUN would love him, he is a real company man.