By conceding that he has not been on top of his game, Rudd is adding grist to Tony Abbott's argument that the PM is more talk than action.

You'd think, from Rudd's resort to this pitch, that the government was way behind and seriously staring at defeat. But even those who think Abbott has performed very well aren't predicting he's likely to win.

The insulation affair has been a disaster, exposing the government's flawed processes. Rudd's assumption of responsibility for it last week, including his regret for not being inquisitive enough, was proper and sensible, although his treatment of Peter Garrett was all over the place - on Tuesday saying he would be standing by his minister, on Friday cutting off his arm.

But yesterday's mea culpa was of a different ilk. It extended far wider. Rudd is now admitting he has been under-delivering, and he is sloughing off the cover of the global financial crisis. People have become disappointed in the government, he said, talking about the need for it to lift its game not just in the area of hospitals, where the timetable has slipped substantially, but education (Julia Gillard might think she has been marching along quite smartly) and ''getting on with the business of action on climate change''.

You imagine Abbott slipping easily into confession, but it comes as a bit of a shock from Rudd.

Leaving aside insulation, there is a danger in talking up the government's failings. Some voters who have been satisfied might think that if the PM believes they should give it a whack, perhaps they should. The ''flog me, flog me'' invitation might be irresistible.

The alternative argument is that it does no harm to appear humble; it can counter criticism that Rudd has looked too pumped up, hubristic and fond of the international limelight.

Public reaction over the next weeks will test the tactic.

Most immediately, the government has got itself into a bizarre bind. Its health policy, proposing it should become the major funder of hospitals, is ready to go. If it drops it immediately it is accused of another distraction, while every day it holds it back is a day lost on a frontline issue for those voters wanting better delivery from the PM.