SpankyMcFarland

Chrétien and Martin were hardly fire-breathing radicals. Change is gradual here.

I think they'll get by, all the same. They are well paid by any standard and they are still free to go. Let the wonderful free market decide what happens.

Is every Conservative voter on this forum? You seem a bit over-represented here, guys.

Corruption will always be with us. To pretend that the outgoing crowd were clean requires a certain partiality regarding the facts.

What was Harper thinking when he appointed this poor, doddery geezer to the second most important job in the country?

I don't have confidence in the impartiality of the GG, a mere appointee. The rules should be clearer and the process more open. And the less I hear about foreign monarchs, the better.

The whole rigmarole is so outdated and metaphysical. There should be no wiggle room for anybody, no 'understandings'.

How are the usual Conservative spokespersons on PandP looking e.g. Rempel, Calandra, Gill, James etc.? For their performances on that show alone, James and Gill deserve to lose. I presume Rempel is safe as houses and didn't need to campaign in her own riding.

When I told a Muslim colleague I voted Liberal, first words out of his mouth were 'so you want to pay more taxes?'. 'Yes', I said, 'I do'.

The point I am making is that I know of Muslims who would not usually have voted at all who voted this time.So that is a negative for Harper.

The risk there is that you increase the turnout in the third group. I have seen that happen among Muslms this time, people who would not usually vote.

Ten years is long enough for anybody as PM. He should have realized that. Or some brave party member should have told him.

The niqab debate has mobilized some Muslims I know against Harper. He must have looked at the numbers in thecountry and decided they were not worth bothering about.

Actually, I think we got away from the people who were trying to get away from the oppressive traditions - we are the conformists in North America, unlike our rowdier friends to the south. Does peace, order and good government sound like a ringing call to arms?

The FGM link just goes to the website, not to the article. The Ottawa candidate is taking down a vote strategically sign which is funny. On the Saudis, we are all hypocrites. We want their money although we know full well what they are like. Fair journos would point to their own party's failings first in this matter, which not be hard.

The biggest problem is the age of the government. It is really time for change. We'll see if the next crowd can do anything to make Parliament relevant again, if we get a 'next crowd'. They will have their work cut out for them. The temptations are all the other way.

More of them vote, anyway, so I'd say their max vote is lower.

Oh dear, the sin of presumption: http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/what-is-the-sin-of-presumption

Harper has not left much space for aspiring leaders in his party. Look at the British Conservatives, lining up to replace Cameron who has only just won his second election.

Could a Nate Silver be anywhere near as accurate in this country? I THINK the Liberals are going to win the popular vote (as in get the biggest percentage) but that is about as far as I am willing to guess.

JT is in Conservative ridings and SJH is too, and he's not talking about 'Justin' any more, which sounds like the party polls are mirroring what we are seeing in the public ones and the nice hair ads did not work.

Harper's confrontational style has affected everything he as done at home and abroad. He seems to be happier with enemies than friends.

The unusual length of the campaign was an abuse of process by the Conservatives, not a trivial matter BTW and one of many problems with our system. Fortunately, it is now biting them in the posterior.

So nearly 10 per cent of voters get two or three seats for their trouble. Does not compute. Much as I dislike the BQ, I think they deserve more than that. And the Greens certainly do.

Yeah, but he's likeable. Harper isn't. That's quite an extraordinary handicap for a politician which he has overcome amazingly well. Until now. Now he's not looking so good. At least you have the insight not to argue about that bizarre rictus Steve puts on to impersonate a friendly person.