Unable to hide behind the edits of a broadcast package or the nuance of a news story, Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull was last night exposed. Under the bright lights of Brisbane's Powerhouse studio and in front of its live audience for Q&A, his waffle had nowhere to hide.
Twitter users noticed it straight away. Mentions of Malcolm Turnbull's "waffle", "meandering", and "interrupting himself" began to accompany the #qanda hashtag almost as soon as the ABC broadcast went live. Q&A exposed one of the Prime Minister's biggest problems: Mr Turnbull can't seem to talk in a straight line.
Many of Mr Turnbull's answers last night began with "well, I, when, uh, can I just say ..."
Meandering from topics and introducing new arguments mid-sentence saw Mr Turnbull bring up former treasurer Peter Costello's budget record in a question about a 2020-21 return to surplus, clearly distracting from the point.
Stumbling over words in a clumsily formed answer has allowed the Opposition to seize on one of Mr Turnbull's unintended statements today. During the program he admitted there where "big cuts to hospital funding" in the Coalition's 2014 Budget, before backtracking to soften his language, saying he meant "big changes" instead.
The waffle first revealed itself during Malcolm Turnbull's first interview with Leigh Sales on 7.30 when he first claimed the top job. But during the campaign it's proved a real problem.