IN a masterful fusion of humanity, symbolism and eloquence Kevin Rudd has branded his prime ministership with a historic mission; a mission where each of his recent predecessors has failed to deliver. This week was about national reconciliation, an event orchestrated by Rudd. It is Rudd who enshrined his first parliamentary week with the national apology. It is Rudd who devised the apology as an act of contrition and a new beginning. And it is Rudd who seeks to pressure Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson by offering the hand of bipartisanship on indigenous policy.