Quite frankly, given Brendan Nelson’s atrocious performance in doorstop and radio interviews it surprises me that the Liberal party even put transcripts on their website. But if they’re going to put them up they should put them up intact. Here’s a snippet from Nelson’s doorstop in Gippsland today according to the Libs.

QUESTION: Are you confident you’ll be leading the Liberals at the next election?

DR NELSON: Yes, very confident.

But here’s the same snippet according to The Age.

Asked if he was confident he would be leading the opposition to the next election, he said: “As confident as I can… yes, very confident.”

See how they’ve cunningly left out the bit that makes the good doctor look like (more of a) dick?

If you need any more proof here’s some ABC footage (at 2min 06sec) of the doctored statement in question.

Oh, and here’s another interesting chunk of the transcript.

QUESTION: [inaudible]

DR NELSON: Instant a lot of the time.

What’s the bet that the question was “what kind of coffee do you drink?” in response to this statement of Nelson’s earlier in the doorstop?

The Labor Party has a track record of being captivated and high-jacked by left leaning, latte sippers in large suburban cities.

And what’s the bet that the question wasn’t actually inaudible?