Tony Abbott was upstaged on Sunday. But it wasn't Kevin Rudd stealing the limelight.
Nine-year-old Ben Betteridge captured the travelling media's attention during a stop at Bear Cottage in Manly, proudly showing off his drawing of the opposition leader and frontbenchers Joe Hockey, Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop.
Ben declared Mr Abbott his favourite Liberal leader and confidently predicted a coalition win next Saturday.
He had even rewritten an old children's favourite for the occasion.
"Tony Abbott will be coming round the mountain when he comes," he belted out for the cameras.
A second verse had the health conscious Mr Abbott eating "chips and ice cream when he comes".
"I like Tony so much," the boy said, when questioned by reporters.
Then the excited realisation: "I'll be on the news".
There to announce $2 million in funding for Bear Cottage if elected, Mr Abbott was clearly taken with Ben, whose older brother Tom is being cared for by the children's hospice.
"You gave the best political speech of the day, I heard," the opposition leader said, relegating Kevin Rudd's campaign launch to second place at best in the process.
"I am so impressed that a youngster is so knowledgeable about the leading figures of the federal coalition."
"Is there anything you'd like to say?," he asked Ben, who has autism.
"Joe Hockey is the shadow treasurer and I think he should give Tony Abbott a wonderful clap for making him welcome him to Bear Cottage," came the reply.
Cue the trademark Abbott laugh.
The opposition leader was emotional when announcing funding for Bear Cottage, flanked by wife Margie and daughters Frances and Bridget.
"I think that as a father myself it's nice to be able to do something like this on Father's Day," he told the onlooking parents, at one point on the verge of tears.
Father's Day presented Mr Abbott with a rare moment of downtime in the hectic election campaign, with the eldest of his three daughters, Louise, flying home after a long stint overseas.
He headed back to Sydney's north shore for a quiet Father's Day dinner.
Taking the night off just a week from election day says a lot about how well the Abbott campaign is travelling.
Any doubters should just speak to Ben.
