The campaign bubble in Penrith

As a journalist, you know you're in a marginal seat when its inhabitants see you coming a mile off. In the case of the astute people of Penrith in the Western Surburbs' seat of Lindsay when finding a busload of reptiles pile into the local McDonalds last Tuesday, they had seen enough to to prompt one to remark to their friend "look journalists".

They had come across us in their shopping malls and streets "vox popping" average Australians on their views on politics to know that when journos come calling run. Run as fast as your dear legs can carry you or face seeing your face and name plastered across the paper next with an inane quote attached.

I was first sent out to Penrith in 2003 when Mark Latham was elected Labor leader to "take the temperature" of the electorate. Not surprisingly, they were oblivious to the fact he was a wingnut and could be encouraged to say a few positive words about him.

However,  last week we weren't seeking their views but rather stodgy fast food fare.  The Coalition convoy had come to Penrith for the launch of the Western Sydney Abbott bus. (It's kind of like the Freedom Riders except its driven by a whole load of white guys with a six foot image of Tony Abbott's face on the side and aims to promote the case of marginalised Liberal voters in Western Sydney).

In a large empty car park near the Penrith Panthers, a smallish collection of Liberal supporters had come to welcome the Abbott Freedom Bus. 

As blogger Preston Towers remarked the event was behind a fence leading to the assertion the media were in a campaign bubble walled off from the real people.

In truth,  the pack had just been over the road at the local Maccas rubbing shoulders with hoi polloi. The gate to the carpark where the event was held was also wide open and interested bystanders could have wandered in. The fact that there was only Liberal supporters there was not evidence others were locked out. Rather, few people in their right mind would want to spend an hour of their day mixing with wide-eyed zealots bellowing "Tony".

Immediately after the event, the Coalition convoy dribbled across to the Penrith Panthers stadium to "announce" funding for the extension of the stadium. It was hardly notable - the funding had already been announced and allocated by Labor in June. 

But of course it subsequently attracted widespread media attention for what Abbott said at the stadium. After kicking a ball with a couple of the Penrith players, Abbott convened an impromptu press conference with the Liberal candidate for Lindsay Fiona Scott with his daughter Frances at his side.

A crew from 4 Corners doing a story for the election led the questioning of Abbott. They were clearly interested in the parallels between the way in which John Howard had won over Western Sydney and the Coalition's pitch at this election. Abbott was asked about the similarities between Scott and the Liberal member of Lindsay until 2007, Jackie Kelly - who notoriously lost her seat when her husband helped distribute anti-Islamic propaganda. Abbott then uttered his now infamous words that both women "had sex appeal".

The words had an immediate reaction in the press pack, many rushing to their tape recorders to check he had said what they thought he said. "OMG. This is a real gaffe", said a few. I wasn't so sure, even if it was a mistake and a bit tasteless, I wasn't convinced it would have major ramifications.  As one senior Coalition advisor said to me afterwards - "We would have had thousands of men in Western Sydney googling "Fiona Scott". The polls that weekend bore me out. There was the real campaign bubble right there.