But the politics computer says no.

In his first major speech of the year, Mr Morrison entered the stage seeking to sharpen his jobs and economic management re-election pitch to voters, offer cash to the struggling aged care and university sectors and say he understood the frustrations of the pandemic.

A resurgent Labor opposition has the Prime Minister beseeching voters, "It's not a time to have an each way bet on Australia's future."

He wants to be the man who understands, just as the Labor opposition is starting to effectively paint him as the man without a plan.

"I have not done everything right. And I will take my fair share of the criticisms and the blame. It goes with the job," the Prime Minister said.

It is the punching bag, shock absorber strategy Mr Morrison has used rarely, and reasonably effectively, to diffuse public anger.

Until now.

We are in the midst of a no fun, difficult summer thanks to Omicron and more Australians than ever are falling sick and dying. The health and aged care system is overwhelmed, not enough rapid antigen tests have been available when needed and government MPs seemingly allowed to spread anti-vaccination tripe.

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So it is notable that Mr Morrison was not offering to take responsibility in his speech. He managed to question himself about the issue of responsibility.

"And it's fair enough that this disappointment leads you to ask, 'couldn't you have done more?', 'couldn't this have been avoided?', 'after all, aren't you responsible?'" he posed to himself. "I get that. For me as Prime Minister, accepting this responsibility means asking yourself and challenging yourself every single day with those same questions. And I can assure you I do."

A fired up, even hostile press gallery took no prisoners at the National Press Club, delivering three body blows.

The hits were over saying sorry for mistakes in the job, not being in touch with ordinary Australians and a leaked text message exchange between the former NSW Liberal Premier Gladys Berejiklian and an unnamed Cabinet Minister in which Mr Morrison is described as a "horrible, horrible person", "a fraud" and a "complete psycho".

Ouch.

The first strike came early. After a long list of voter grievances including COVID management, NDIS funding and his trip to Hawaii during the bushfires, the ABC's Laura Tingle gave him an opportunity to say sorry for the "mistakes he has made as Prime Minister."

"We're all terribly sorry for what this pandemic has done to the world and to this country," he offered.

Which did not address the proposition.

Rounding out his answer, he offered that if he had his time again with the vaccination roll-out, he would have put Australia's COVID management under a military operation from the start.

Mr Morrison should have seen the second major hit coming. An 'in touch with the people' perennial question at these sort events at this time in the election cycle, Sky News asked him if he knew the price of bread, petrol and rapid antigen tests. The answer, eventually, was no.

"I'm not going to pretend to you that I go out each day and I buy a loaf of bread and I buy a litre of milk. I'm not going to pretend to you that I do that," he responded.

The third strike, and one the Prime Minister had very little to say about, was the text message exchange about Mr Morrison said to be between Ms Berejiklian and the unnamed Cabinet Minister.

There is only a limited pool of people involved and it comes at a time when there is significant unrest in Liberal moderate ranks about the mess in NSW with delayed candidate preselections. Many Morrison ministers were in the National Press Club audience and quite a few looked stunned and were later seen furiously messaging.

So not a clean break. The Prime Minister has not had many of late. And this latest crack has come his own side.

If an election was called this week, polls indicate a Labor landslide.

It is a long way until a likely May election date, but as Grace Tame unsmilingly reminded us last week, many of Mr Morrison's problems are sticking. And no one is saying sorry.

Watch Labor leader Anthony Albanese's speech at the National Press Club here: