The Vulcan Mind Meld

I think he's being serious:

Those conservative bona fides -- the kind that earn people commemorative crystal bowls from AEI -- were part of what made Howard's relationship with Bush such a close one.

"I like to say that they had a Vulcan mind meld. They were both very similar people, socially conservative as well as politically conservative," said Michael Fullilove, a fellow at Sydney's Lowy Institute for International Policy and at Washington's Brookings Institution. "The challenge is to keep the relationship strong and maintain and increase our level of influence."

Fullilove, who advised Paul Keating, Howard's predecessor, said that while many in the White House probably would have preferred to see Howard stay in office, Rudd's victory is actually, in a sense, better for the U.S.-Australia alliance.

"The previous government was in danger of loving the alliance to death," he said.