10 The All Blacks Rugby World Cup triumph should have been a campaign highlight. John Key stood before a rugby-mad nation, so eager to shake Richie McCaw's hand that he performed an embarrassing "three-way" handshake.
9 After the Rena ran aground and a suit-clad shovel-bearing Phil Goff joined the clean-up,
all the public saw was a poorly executed PR stunt.
8 The Greens, ever earnest about their policies, have never been famous for their sense of humour ... until this election when party wags secretly pasted "The Rich Deserve More" stickers all over National's billboards.
7 Dubbed the "battle of the babes", coverage of the race for Auckland Central resembled a beauty pageant with the focus never far from the looks of the two top candidates: National's blonde Nikki Kaye, 31; Labour's brunette, Jacinda Ardern, also 31.
6 Don Brash had pundits wondering what he was on when he revealed his hitherto hidden liberal stance towards drugs. It's not that he takes them himself, just that he thinks personal use of marijuana should be decriminalised in the name of saving police time.
