well! what did people think of the prime minister's rally speech this year? sars acronyms! sexy nurses! coughing criminals! teochew fishermen! the transcript doesn't quite convey how funny it all was. i stayed around for the first 40 minutes, until he started on wages and cpf and i thought, bleah, i'll read that in tomorrow's papers, and promptly missed the "successor" bits (well, i thought he was going to go on about the economy all night) so, it's really going to be lee hsien loong huh. not that that's unexpected but i instinctly feel uncomfortable. competent and experienced? i've no doubt about that but he seems - strident and abrasive. i like goh chok tong and his mild but firm manner and benign, thoughtful attitude. i suppose it couldn't have been george yeo - too young? insufficient experience? too westernised? party factions? mm hmm.