To Nelson on Gillard

In his list of reasons to vote Liberal, Defence Minister Brendan Nelson included the assertion that "a lot of Australians are uneasy about the idea of Julia Gillard as Deputy." Why? Gillard is, if anything, a much more impressive public figure than Rudd. Nelson's failure to expound or support this statement looks suspiciously like prejudice masquerading as discretion. I can only conclude that by "a lot of Australians" he means the chauvinists among us. If that includes him, why doesn't he say so? If it doesn't, why does he solicit and legitimise opinions that contradict his own enlightened view?