Tony Healy writes:
Gareth Evans' piece suggests he is not very self-aware. His contacts will naturally express an interest in Australian politics if they know his background, but I doubt that they really care much one way or the other.
Away from the political groupies, I find that US people don't really regard us as that important at all. As a market, we're tiny. They see our political parties as different and quaint, especially with the links to Britain. Despite all the rah rah, we're not an innovative nation. Our political elite are dominated by non-technology, non-military people. Full stop.