Not so fast, John

PM John Howard has apparently 'admitted' he would lose a plebiscite on Australia's deployment of troops in Iraq. Firstly, you can't 'admit' to a future deed or event - I can't 'admit' I will eat muesli for breakfast tomorrow, even though I probably will. I can concede that I might eat muesli. On the other hand, I might die in my sleep, or opt for raisin toast. Bad news for journalists: words actually mean something, and different words mean different things.

Secondly, John knows that a 'plebiscite', supposing we had such things, would not be the same as an opinion poll. There's always a proportion of the electorate which will respond more conservatively to an actual election - where their choice has consequences - than they will to an inconsequential opinion poll.

He said he accepted there was a lot of criticism of the Government's decision and if there was a vote "I would probably lose the vote", a conclusion supported by the straw poll Jon Faine took of the crowd outside the ABC's temporary Federation Square studio.

Oh well, that settles it. A straw poll taken amongst a gaggle of Jon Faine groupies. Those troops are as good as gone.