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***Raonaild*** · 09-29-2008, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunnykerr (View Post)

Considering how much more important it is to understand the candidates in our election... I don't know, call me weird, but it's not even a contest for me. I'd rather watch a tedious prime ministerial debate than the most entertaining gaffe-filled VP debate.

Not to mention that this is my life they'll be talking about.

So, to me, it's a no-brainer. Yeah, it's TV, but this one of them things that has nothing to do with the classical interpretation of entertainment value. The entertainment is in the impact these men and woman will have on my life.

I mean, I'm dying to find a way in which Harper doesn't deeply creep me out. And I keep hoping for moment where either Stephane Dion or Jack Layton says something that truly reflects their actual character and brilliance (I'm a fan of these men). I want to see if Gilles Duceppe will say something that makes any sense to me. And, honestly, I've never heard anything come out of Elizabeth May's mouth that didn't profoundly interest me.

So I am looking forward to this debate immensely.

Seriously though ... what can you learn about these people's positions within the context of the debate that you couldn't find out by following their campaigns? If there's anything new or there are any big surprises, the news folks will point them out afterwards. And do you really want to base your opinion on single moment of brilliance? Isn't it better to base it on a longer term pattern of behaviour - like how these people behaved before the election campaign even started?

And, looking at the record drop on the TSX today, I think one could reasonably argue that what is happening in US politics right now will actually have a much bigger impact on Canada in the near term than any of our own political parties.

Personally, I think we're going to exit this election campaign the same way we entered it, with the Conservatives forming a minority government. The main question is how the opposition parties will split the rest of the vote - if we're very unlucky, they will split the vote so much that the Conservatives manage a very slim majority. Hopefully that does not happen, and as soon as the Liberals lose again, Dion will resign and the party will choose a stronger leader, so that they'll actually be a credible opponent to the Conservatives when we do this all again in a few years.