On Thursday and Friday, we had our first two of four debates surrounding the upcoming premature election. Recently our Minority Government was disolved by a vote of non-confidence after a horrid spending scandal disgraces the Liberals. So with the big party in jeopardy of a major backlash at the polls, these recent debates were huge for the future of Canada. Each dabate is done twice, on in french and one in English… both of Canada’s official languages. I missed the French debate, but managed to tune in for the English debate and watched to see what if any fireworks would go off. I was hoping to see some fierce debates and scolding insults tossed across the floor, and I was not disappointed. This was one of the better debates I had seen in quite a while and the exchange the leaders had made the recent debates for the US President look laughable, as leaders in this one were able to question one another directly and respond as well when given their turn. It was a lively debate, and one that had a few shocking moments, and a lot of missed opportunities.
As usual the person who was scolded the most during the two hour affair was Paul Martin, our current Prime Minister. The Liberal leader had to take questions from the moderator as well as the leaders about the recent Gomery report about the spending scandal that has smeared his party. There was also a lot of other issues that managed to stick its head out as well such as the status of universal health care, gun control and even same sex marriage. All leaders managed to do all right, but it was clear that some did much better than others and managed to land some real haymakers when it really counted. The Leader of the Opposition, Conservative Stephen Harper was about as enthusiastic as a wet blanket. This guy was so bland and without charisma to the point where he makes John Kerry look hip and fresh. Yes, the bugger was that boring and without energy. Harper actually looked like he didn’t want to be there, as did Martin as they both took a real kicking from the NDP and the Bloc Leaders. You know the leader’s debate is going off the charts when I found myself actually getting into what was being said by the Quebec Separatist leader more than what was coming from the Liberal or the Conservative. I know what Harper was trying to do, as he didn’t want to attack and make himself look weak and afraid of Martin. He seemed focused and tried to take Ronald Reagan “calm leader” like approach that seemed to work over Carter. That didn’t work here, and Harper compared to the passion of all the other leaders (even the Bloc Leader) as a fool who was outmatched and unable
But the guy who I was rooting for to make a good showing, Jack Layton of the NDP, came out swinging and didn’t disappoint. Many media outlets and papers said it was Leyton who managed to come out and deliver. Layton had the energy and the passion that Harper was seriously lacking, and had the firepower that Martin didn’t have when cracking the other leaders over the head with their history of bad promises and ties to corporate sponsorship. What also impressed me about the NDP leader, was his ability to not shy away from a single question given. Each answer was straight forward, to the point and given with honest passion. You could tell that this person was not just saying anything, but was giving an answer that he truely believed. There were times when the other leaders seemed to back away from certain issues and go into auto-matic mode and regergitate a rehersed answer to get some part over with. Layton also pandered often trying to muster as much support for his party, which you can’t blame the guy for since he doesn’t want to see this election turn into a two horse race. I think given the situation, he did incredibly well, and I’m not in the minority with that.
There were a few moments that stuck out more than others, and here are just a few that I felt were defining moments of the debate:
Martin did his best to use Quebec Separatism to distract the debate away from his party’s recent scandals. He was fierce when debating with Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe, but where was all this grand standing during the french debate when it could have done his cause more good? These kind of tirades during the English debate is like preaching to the choir. BC, Ontario and all the other English provinces know Quebec staying is a good thing, just a shame Martin didn’t take the time to tell that to Quebec when it mattered the night before.
There was a point during the depate that I think many leaders missed a chance to land a real haymaker to Bloc Leader Duceppe. When asked about Same Sex Marriage, Duceppe made what I think was a huge error when he said that the matter was settled with a free vote and there was no need to vote on it again and again every six months. Just a shame the other leaders didn’t use that comment to express that Quebec shouldn’t hold referendum every six months as well since there was already a free vote on that too…
The only part I did find Martin to be very passionate when he was talking about Same Sex Marriage. Firing some nasty comments Harpers way, Martin made it clear when he said, “If you (Harper) won’t protect the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, then you have no business trying to come Prime Minister of Canada.” I’m not Martin’s biggest fan, but even I have to give props for that scorcher. It would have been like Kerry telling Bush that he has no right to be President if he won’t stand up for the Bill of Rights. I know a lot of Americans who wish they heard lines like that in 2004.
There was one moment that had my jaw hit the floor. To make this comment on debate that was televised across the nation took real minerals. During a question about US/Canada relations, NDP Leader Jack Layton made a comment that I can’t believe no other leader jumped on. It was so contraversal that I believe the moderator cut him off to prevent him from going any further with it. During that comment, he was talking about the fact that despite a few differences there are a lot of Americans who side with us on a few issues. As an example, Layton mentioned that there are a lot of Americans who also believe that the war in Iraq was unnecessary. That was a real jaw dropper for me to hear the leader of any political party in Canada just outright say it on TV for all to hear. The moderator cut him off after saying that on purpose cause I doubt his time was up, but I’m pretty sure Layton won a lot of Anti-War votes with that comment.. especially since the other leaders refuse to comment on the issue. A gutsy move, will be interesting to see how the people respond to it.
One part where Harper actually bothered to show signs of life during the debate was when Martin demanded that he not allow private groups to advertise during elections. Harper fired back one of the best digs of the night when he said that it was better to allow privite citizens to advertise than it was to use taxpayer money dollars to fund goverment ads that pad the party coffers. It was a nice dig that really hit home with Martin. and his scandal bashed Liberals. The PM had little ground to stand on and was pretty much cut off at the knees. Even Martin’s tirade about Quebec and defending Canada from splitting couldn’t help him recover from that hit.
Another interesting part wasthe gun registry question. You could tell by the hundreds of rifles behind the citizen giving the question that it was going to be about gun control. Didn’t take a rocket scientists to wonder what he was going to inquire about, but this was another sore spot for the Liberals as a $50 million dollar program ballooned to $2 billion ing what eventually might be another spending scandal. The auditor general is still counting the beans on that one. I found it funny that Martin didn’t hesitate to blame Americans for what is our failure to prevent guns from crossing the border. I mean I think both the US and Canada should work harder to make sure the border is safer for both sides, but to just dump it onto on side was tacky and pretty much passing the buck for his own party’s inablity to keep past election promises.
Martin wasn’t the only one to take a shot at Bush and the Republican run US Government. Aside from Layton’s declaration of the ‘unnecessary’ war… other leaders didn’t hesitate to bash Washington for bad practice concerning climate change as well as the softwood lumber dispute that had a NAFTA ruling go in our favor. Washington took a lot of hits during the debate, as did Bush and I think we’ll be hearing another response from the US Embassador sooner than later again. But bashing Bush is a thing that many Canadians currently like since not many of us are fond of the baffoon in Cheif. Taking pot shots at the policy rather than the man making them will get you further and look less childish.
I also found it amusing when Gilles Duceppe actually defended floor crossing MP’s as a necessary function of the system of government. It was amuzing to watch the leader of a separatist party defend actually defend the same British Parliamentaray system that his party wants to separate from. Another missed chance to land a haymaker that the leaders were too slow to capitalize on.
So overall, it was a lively debate. It was a shame that the moderator had to interupt and even at times turn off mics to move on to the next point, but I really think she did well and gave everyone a chance to get their point across and make a really good plea to the voters. I enjoyed watching it, though Leah and Mom really showed a distaste for all things politics and don’t really like all this stuff going on during the holiday season. I didn’t mind too much and can’t wait until the next debate which is scheduled for early January, about a week or so before Canadians go to the polls. I’m sure by then, the leaders might be a little more desperate by then and toss around some real digs at one another. One can only hope, but the first debates were rather lively… and made this Canuck insterested to see what happens next, even though my vote is pretty much decided.
Peter
