In the absence of Chretien, Duceppe's won my vote for favourite line. But I don't know if I could pick a winner.I liked Martin's performance during most of the debate, though his anxiety also made him look jumpy and scared. Sometimes his inability to get the words out bordered on comic, though Duceppe had a moment like that too. At least he has a better reason for it.
Layton looked extremely scripted and I think he was just hoping that he would be picked up on the evening news - as if nobody voting NDP actually watches the debates! I sat down in front of the television really wishing he would unscript himself. Alas, not so. Pity, he speaks very well when he's not fishing for soundbites.
And as far as Harper was concerned, his ease was disconcerting. It was as if he simply committed to riding the wave of glory past the finish line with reason as his crowning virtue. Virtuous as it is, I'm skeptical of his brand of reason - the kind of reason that says tax cuts will save the world. With his rise to the 40% mark, it seems I may have to move to Norway or San Fransisco - or an independent Quebec.
Yikes. I really am disenchanted.
1 Comments:
I didn't watch the entire debates, but I watched a good portion of them, and frankly, I thought Harper presented himself the best. Duceppe is still the best of the bunch as far as clarity and cleverness (which, considering his sometimes difficulty with the English language, is rather amusing) and it's been that way for a while. Martin, I felt, came across as defensive and jittery and overall. Plus, with the frequency that he talks about how Canada is great and we just need to keep up what we're doing, I'm legitimately scared for a Liberal government. Is he completely blind to all the problems in this country? It's true, we cannot be perfect, but he seems to be ignoring the concerns of so many Canadians. At least TRY to address them.
Plus, I was unhappy with how many snide attacks he took at the United States, mostly because of his generalization. He spoke of them as if their entire history of government has been run by the current administration, or that every American is extremely right-wing and anti-social services. I don't think comparing our country to the United States does anything for Canada. It's that old problem of identifying ourselves through NOT being American.
I still don't like it when, halfway through a statement, Harper gets that little grin on his face. It seems so insincere and self-assurant, and I really wish someone else was the leader of his party. But having said that, he seemed to do a good job of rebutting most of the attacks made against him. And I loved how he "called out" Paul Martin for not accepting a one-on-one debate with Duceppe while trying multiple times to debate him one-on-one during this debate.
My thoughts above were not organized well; I really should be sleeping right now. Anyway, I'll leave them as-is. Oh, just one more comment below:
I still really wish Jim Harris was allowed in the debates. It makes sense whether you are a supporter of the Green Party or not – our public dollars are now going to the party, and so Canadians have the right to hear what they have to say (for good or bad) so that they can decide if public dollars should continue to go to the Greens through their vote on the 23rd. The logic behind his exclusion from these debates is baffling, especially when you consider previous elections, and the Consortium's choices in allowing other party leaders into the debate.
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