Tony Abbott won the first debate marginally on both style and issues. Neither leader was faintly inspirational let alone charismatic. We don’t look for that sort of stuff anymore. But whereas Kevin Rudd rabbited on, Abbott was measured, if a touch ponderous. (It’s called ‘prime ministerial’.) The significance of Rudd’s reliance on notes is not so much that it broke the rules as that it showed his loss of authority.