Desparate Debate

[Slim MacSquinty]

Very interesting this debate, Harper knows his stuff, very detailed answers. The rest are talking in essentually huge generalized accusations, huge generalized promises. They are simply repeating cliches which have been oft presented in the media.

Listening to Dion and May in particular is a little like watching a high school council debate, lots of grandious promises they absolutely know they cannot carry out, plenty of feathers not a lot of chicken.

Very disapointing, not a very good discussion, more like a bunch of marketing.

People like to say that Harper is autocratic, listening to Dion I think that he thinks he's a supehero who can solve all problems, we cannot afford his government, Just imaging if layton got in power businesses would divest themselves of Canadian investment so fast it would be frightening.

Edited October 3, 2008 by Slim MacSquinty

[Vancouver King]

Jack Layton: "Where is your platform, Mr. Harper, under your sweater?"

[Wild Bill]

Jack Layton: "Where is your platform, Mr. Harper, under your sweater?"

And under his sweater, beneath his platform, are his sleeves rolled up like Obama?

[BC_chick]

I got a strong urge to throw something at the TV when each candidate had to give a long shpiel about all their family members, extended family, and their pets who are involved in the "arts" before getting to the point they were trying to make. That type of "Politicians - they're just like us!" charade is what I absolutely deplore about politics. Totally pathetic.

As for the players individually, here's my synopsis:

May - She knows her stuff, but too bad she can't shake the over-dramatic lawyer in her and just be a calm and collected politician. She was acting like she was in front of a jury using physical gestures repeatedly to get the point across. I wasn't that impressed.

Layton - I've always liked him and still do, but I finally get what people mean when they call him snake oil salesman... good grief, it was painful to watch him start every segment given to him by whipping out the violin and singing a sad song before getting to the point. Eeeks, it was looking so insincere by the end. But when he did get to the point, I have to hand it to him, he makes a lot of sense about Harper (and Dion's) misdirected focus.

Dion - oh God, what to say here? That was the most pathetic performance of the night. He sounded bitter, shill and what's up with that awkward head-bobbing? He reminded me of those little dolls you put on the dash of the car... down to the painted on smile and everything. That seals it - any vote for the Liberal Party now is strictly a vote against Harper.

Harper - irrelevant responses, dodged most of the accusations against him, but hey, I can't say I blame him. He knows the election is his, all he had to do was sit there pretty and let the other jokers just bury themselves. Still, all I could see in him was the old, arrogant money-worshipping Harper who doesn't care about anything in this life that doesn't involve lining the pockets of big corporations and air-polluters.

Duceppe - wow, this guy blew everyone out the water. Attacked Harper with substance and not just rhetoric, he was funny ("unlike these three I'm the only one that knows he won't be PM" anyone?), and he talked about things that actually matter to most Canadians like the economy, environment and not cutting back on programs.

But it's a real sad state of affairs when the separatist guy whose party doesn't even run candidates outside of Quebec wins the federal debate.

I want my two hours of life back, I can't believe I sat through that.

Edited October 3, 2008 by BC_chick

[Smallc]

That type of "Politicians - they're just like us!" charade is what I absolutely deplore about politics.

But they are just like us.

[BC_chick]

But they are just like us.

....If that was a regular work-environment...

May would be the mail-room clerk, always trying to fit in and be relevant, but nobody really pays any attention to them. Dion is annoying HR manager who tries to act like he knows everything better than everyone else. People give him respect out of a sense of duty, but inside nobody really likes him. Harper is the jerk boss who watches the clock to see if you're five minutes late. He pretends to listen attentively when you tell him your personal troubles, sympathises with you, and then tells you that he understands but that you better shape up or find the door. Duceppe is the VP who hates the company but pretends to be involved. In fact he's actually plotting to start his own company by using all the resources he acquired from this company.

So ya, I guess I see your point... they're just like us, aren't they?

Edited October 3, 2008 by BC_chick

[Oleg Bach]

No they are not like us..they are like the kid in high school that desperately wanted to be noticed and feel important and joins the drama club so they can be on stage - all actors are nerdish dweebs - all are tiny irrelevant people in real life - look at Tom Cruise - just a short little nerd who refuses to be photoghraphed in the profile because he has a big beak. Politcals are not like real people..they are all insecure and demand constant stroking...Real people do not need public life to feel important - they do - they are not like us.....

[Vancouver King]

So many conservatives getting personal over other leaders physical presence - Elizabeth May's "chompers", Dion's "head bobbing".

In the interest of equality and fair play let me contribute this observation made possible by a giant plasma and 1080p resolution: Harper has broken out with a terrible case of facial warts. While he was losing all that recently gained weight he was adding a half dozen prominent warts which, frankly, don't flatter is smarmy smirk. Whats up with that?

Just an equal opportunity observation.

[BC_chick]

So many conservatives getting personal over other leaders physical presence - Elizabeth May's "chompers", Dion's "head bobbing".

I'm the one who brought up Dion's head-bobbing, so just to set the record straight, I don't have a conservative bone in my body and I've been a staunch LPC supporter all my life.

But Dion's head bobs, it's a fact, and it looks stupid. It's no worse than Harper's arrogant smirk or Layton's habit of singing a sad tune before getting to the point.

I gave my synopsis on everything from substance to body-language. Dion's body-language was unimpressive and lackluster.

But please, assuming I'm a conservative is way out of line. I'd rather be called anything but the c-word.

[Vancouver King]

But please, assuming I'm a conservative is way out of line. I'd rather be called anything but the c-word.

I appreciate your anguish over such an accusation. My apology.

[capricorn]

So many conservatives getting personal over other leaders physical presence - Elizabeth May's "chompers", Dion's "head bobbing".

Actually, I referred to May's choppers, not chompers.

Physical characteristics are the only things that make that bunch of buffoons come across like human beings. It certainly isn't that they have anything to offer that the average Canadian would understand. Most of them can't even explain their own policies in a coherent way.

In the interest of equality and fair play let me contribute this observation made possible by a giant plasma and 1080p resolution: Harper has broken out with a terrible case of facial warts. While he was losing all that recently gained weight he was adding a half dozen prominent warts which, frankly, don't flatter is smarmy smirk. Whats up with that?

I have noticed that Harper's asthma plays havoc with his skin. I also noticed that his allergy symptoms become pronounced when he is confined with a bunch of chihuahuas that only want to nip at his heels.

And did Dion spend too much time in the tanning salon? Or was it high blood pressure? I couldn't tell.

[PoliticalCitizen]

Physical characteristics are the only things that make that bunch of buffoons come across like human beings. It certainly isn't that they have anything to offer that the average Canadian would understand. Most of them can't even explain their own policies in a coherent way.

And some of them, like our Prime Minister, DO NOT HAVE AN ELECTION PLATFORM at all.

Why bother if the polls say we'll win anyway?

I have noticed that Harper's asthma plays havoc with his skin. I also noticed that his allergy symptoms become pronounced when he is confined with a bunch of chihuahuas that only want to nip at his heels.

He looked like he had a joint before the debate with his bloodshot eyes and the crooked smile...

Maybe his strategists recommended that to help him hide his egoistic, spiteful and authoritarian true self.

[Slim MacSquinty]

" egoistic, spiteful and authoritarian true self."

Something you are familiar with?

[capricorn]

And some of them, like our Prime Minister, DO NOT HAVE AN ELECTION PLATFORM at all.

But the silliest conspiracy theory hinted at during the grate debate Thursday is that the missing Conservative platform is tangible proof of either a hidden Harper agenda or a government with nothing worth standing on for re-election.

"Where's your platform?," demanded Green Party leader Elizabeth May in an early debate showdown against Prime Minister Stephen Harper. "Yours is the only party that hasn't put forward any platform in this election." Other leaders quickly picked up the alarmed chant.

In a technical sense, they are right. But platforms are just a collection of policy planks framed with nice graphics and stapled inside a cover splashed with the party logo.

It serves mostly as a handy reference document that journalists stick on a dusty shelf until the slow-news-day urge strikes to checklist the government's record of meeting its commitments.

The Liberals turned the platform release into something glitzy and dramatic starting in 1993 with the launch of their infamous Red Books, all of them rolled out in the second week, including the version then-Reform leader Preston Manning gleefully released to media ahead of schedule.

But Conservatives say they will wait until this coming Tuesday, when their daily list of announcements has been exhausted before producing a collective vision for their government's future.

And that is a strategic move because:

But by waiting until a last-week release, the Harper tour also retains the flexibility to inject last-minute changes into their low-key list of promises if the need for emergency popularity-boosting treatment is required.

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/el....html?id=859052

Contrast that with the fact that the Liberals issued a paper version of their platform early but it does not include the last minute economic plan announced by Dion in the debates. That unplaned plan consists of a high level meeting of financial gurus to be convened in the first 30 days of a new Liberal government taking office, a plan designed to save the economy. Impressive afterthought.

Looks like the Conservatives will be stealing the thunder just prior to voters going to the polls.

He looked like he had a joint before the debate with his bloodshot eyes and the crooked smile...

I am certain that you are aware that Harper has asthma because it has been mentioned more than once on MLW and elsewhere in the media. Poking fun at a person that has redness in and around the eyes due to a chronic condition illustrates the lack of compassion some on the left truly harbour for their fellow citizens. What hypocrites.

[Cameron]

It's wall all garbage...I can't WAIT for the 14th.....get this over with.

[Argus]

And some of them, like our Prime Minister, DO NOT HAVE AN ELECTION PLATFORM at all.

It's funny how so many weak minds have seized on this as if it has some kind of importance. I think most of them don't even know what a platform is. :-)

The Tories have been revealing their platform in daily announcements from day one. But they haven't revealed it all at once. Why should they? They'll announce new things to grab the voters attention as the election continues.

Prediction: The other parties are gnashing their teeth in jealousy at this flexibility and will, come next election, do the same thing.

[independent]

It's funny how so many weak minds have seized on this as if it has some kind of importance. I think most of them don't even know what a platform is. :-)

The Tories have been revealing their platform in daily announcements from day one. But they haven't revealed it all at once. Why should they? They'll announce new things to grab the voters attention as the election continues.

Prediction: The other parties are gnashing their teeth in jealousy at this flexibility and will, come next election, do the same thing.

Your absolutely right. There is 25 years of Harpers ideas we can look at too see what he is up too. We do not need a platform.