Harper's Style

[jdobbin]

I don't know Manitoba at all but I will say that Liberal support in Montreal is not as solid as it was. The BQ or even NDP may matter.

More seriously, the Liberals are no longer a viable party outside of Montreal.

I agree. Defeats could happen in Montreal as well.

That's absurdly pessimistic. Dobbin, are you superstitious?

The key point in your pessimistic rant is Ontario. The Liberals will get at least 30 seats there if onl;y for Toronto and the region.

You think? I see the trend going the other way based on the numbers. They key point, as you say, isn't Ontario but Dion. If he performs better than the very low expectations of him, he might salvage something.

Hopeful Liberals at the Winnipeg meeting were praying for a 100 seats. Others were worried about dropping below 50 in a complete blow out.

I'm intrigued by Harper's style and what it means for Canada. We seem to choose Kings, Trudeaus and Nixons whereas Americans get rid of them, neuter them or never elect them in the first place.

You may get a king. I wonder how he will do with a massive majority.

And I wonder if the Liberal will recover. At the moment, I doubt it. I'm fairly certain they will be bankrupt financially and dead as a force in Canada.

[Topaz]

IF we go to an election this is how I see it. IF everyone that voted like last time, Harper has a minority, BUT what has changed. Harper has peeved off people in Ontario, Nfld and Labador, people who has income trust, there`s the war, and then anyone who watches C-pac knows how they act in Question Period and all the little lies and scams they have pulled. I understand they may take Quebec, but then again wasn`t Quebec against this war? I really think ANY of the three could form a minority gov`t. The Cons have just spend millions to help out GM, I guess Harper need this Finance Minister back!

[betsy]

I just saw a very relaxed, straight forward, simply effective and no-nonsense Harper campaigning in Winnipeg today. The way he explained his policies IN DETAILS - clearly pointing out key details showing he knows exactly what he's on about. He showed his sense of humor, a good come-back with that last question that got him stumped at first- because it was an unusual question.

Judging from how every other leaders are doing theirs, hah! They're minced meat come debate night!

[fellowtraveller]

Who knows, maybe after 8 years in total of tory gov't, the Liberals will get back in, the party completely revamped. I thought that when Dion got elected, it was party brass wanting to clean out the closet completely.

I think the election of Dion was the exact opposite. He was and is the old guard, the safe candidate. Rae, Ignatieff, Kennedy were all too scary for the Libs to elect. They failed to recognize that an experienced outsider like Rae was exactly what they needed. The last couple of years would hafve been very different if Rae was leader. So, they picked Mr Familiar as everybodys second choice. Problem is, Candians think much the same way: second best, or as recent polls show, third best as a leader.

As far as leader survivors go, the only one in question really is Layton. If he fails to increase his seats signifcantly this time, his second glorious opportunity, his days will be numbered.

Duceppe will quit at his very earliest opportunity, not because he is going to get smoked in Quebec(which is very likely), but because he has had enough.

Dion will want to stay on, but at best he'll be a lame duck. A problem for the Liberals is that the leadership selection process is a year minimum and costs a fortune, two luxuires they don't have. He will quit when he is told to do so, perhaps early 2010.

Harper , win or lose, will quit when and if he feels like it.

[jdobbin]

Judging from how every other leaders are doing theirs, hah! They're minced meat come debate night!

And yet the Conservative anti-Liberal ad will dominate the TV tonight. The cruel and nasty Harper team strikes early in the election.