--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For John Howard to get to any high moral…" description: "\"For John Howard to get to any high moral ground he would have to first climb out of the volcanic hole he's dug for himself over the last decade. You kn..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/405/paul-keating-8731_climbs_for-john-howard-to-get-to-any-high-moral_296221.png" --- # For John Howard to get to any high moral ground he would… ![“For John Howard to get to any high moral ground he would have to first climb out of the volcanic hole he's dug for himself over the last decade. You know, it's like one of those deep diamond mined holes in South Africa, you know, they're about a mile underground. He'd have to come a mile up to get…” quote by Paul Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/405/paul-keating-8731_climbs_for-john-howard-to-get-to-any-high-moral_296221.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/405/paul-keating-8731_climbs_for-john-howard-to-get-to-any-high-moral_296221.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/405/paul-keating-8731_climbs_for-john-howard-to-get-to-any-high-moral_296221.png) > “For John Howard to get to any high moral ground he would have to first climb out of the volcanic hole he's dug for himself over the last decade. You know, it's like one of those deep diamond mined holes in South Africa, you know, they're about a mile underground. He'd have to come a mile up to get to even equilibrium, let alone have any contest in morality with Kevin Rudd.” [Paul Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-keating/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. John Howard must overcome his own deep moral failings before he can claim any ethical superiority over Kevin Rudd. **In simple terms:** He must fix his own flaws first. Key Takeaway Address personal shortcomings before judging others. Themes politics ethics leadership Mood critical serious Type political philosophical When to use this quote - political debates - public perception - leadership challenges Key Concepts moral accountability self-improvement Questions to Reflect On - What steps can a leader take to rebuild moral credibility? - Can personal redemption affect public trust? A Different Perspective Self‑criticism can be politically costly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Climbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climbs/) [Contest Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contest-morality-2839384/) [Contests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contests/) [Decades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decades/) [Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diamond/) [Equilibrium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equilibrium/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [High Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-moral-1230898/) [Holes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holes/) [John Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/john-howard-356322/) [Kevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kevin/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miles/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Moral Ground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-ground-1357019/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Morality Kevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality-kevin-2839383/) [South](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/south/) [South africa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/south-africa/) ## Related quotes > [“If the technology improves sufficiently, the environmental impact of the wealthiest Copy could end up being less than that of the most ascetic living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/if-the-technology-improves-sufficiently-the-environmental-impact-of/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [You can take the high moral ground intellectually, but if it ever happens to you personally, I don't know that I could honestly say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lagravenese/you-can-take-the-high-moral-ground-intellectually-but-if-it-ever/) [Richard LaGravenese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lagravenese/) > [John Howard turned the prime ministership into something like a state police minister. 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