Sydney
A man is not finished when he is defeated,' former US president Richard Nixon said. 'He is finished when he quits.' This notion did not occur to Reba Meagher, the high-flying Labor MP who departed state Parliament at the weekend.
'I want to leave with some dignity - that's the best thing I can do,' an emotional Ms Meagher told her constituents in the working-class seat of Cabramatta. 'The party needs generational change and I am happy to play my part in that.'
In truth, the former - and widely loathed - health minister was about to be axed by the state's newly elevated premier, Nathan Rees. Ms Meagher jumped before she could be dumped from the cabinet.
Despite her lacklustre attempts at political rhetoric, it was not the sort of exit she might have planned. Ms Meagher was widely tipped as a future Labor premier when she entered state Parliament as an ambitious 29-year-old in 1994. Coming from a solid blue-collar background, the tough-talking MP cut her teeth in Labor Party politics at university. Her potential was spotted by then New South Wales premier, Bob Carr, who elevated her to the cabinet as minister for fair trading. Supporters praised her toughness, competence and aptitude for hard work.
Fourteen years later, the blonde divorcee is perhaps the most hated politician in the state (although two other former front-benchers, Michael Costa and Frank Sartor, provide stiff competition). So poor was her performance as health minister that the media nicknamed her 'the Grim Reba'.