Debate night
Angelo picked up a sushi platter and we snuggled in under a blanket to eat sushi and watch the leader's debate from start to finish.
I was surprised that there was no clear winner. Jack came off very strong and made it clear that he has been the official opposition for the last year. However, Stephan came off as sincere and instead of seeming like a man that can't lead his own party, he seemed to perfectly balance respect for his party's history and past ackomplishments with an urgent need to change direction with his Green Shift. He also managed to explain exactly what the Green Shift entails, wheras Jack failed to outline the NDP's cap and trade plan and why we have chose it. In fact, he only mentioned cap and trade twice, and fleetingly each time. Jack set himself apart from the rest on saying that the NDP wants out of Afghanistan, although I am not sure how much support there is for this (I guess we'll see). He spent most of his time attacking Stephan and Steven.
Elizableth May came off as very positive but very, very similar to the Liberals. No real surprise there. While she did manage to show that her party is not a one-issue party she was not able to give a reason for anyone to vote for them, if anything, she basically just endorsed the liberals.
Steven Harper was fairly strong. He was called to task on his broken promises but he stood by his record and tried to focus on the good. Noone called him a "barbarian" when given the chance. And that was interesting in and of itself. Overall he was dull but stuck to his guns. He stood out mostly on the issue of the economy with his "business as usual" approach and on his tough-on-crime approach, which noone else seemed to support, so those will likely be deciding isssues.
Gilles was very strong. His experience showed. Out of all of them he seemed the most poised. Oddly, he weighed in on a number of national issues, and not in a way that was focued on Quebec... which is odd for someone who is not a federalist.
Anyway, even though I thought that Jack could have done better, and I would have liked to see him get out of the box a little, it was a thoroughly enjoyable night. And even though I don't think my guy "won". I don't think anyone else did either.
I heart debates.
Hooray for Canada!
The only thing slightly dampering my spirit is the sad fact that some "Canadians" (if they can even call themselves that) chose to watch the U.S. Vice Presidential debate insead of the Canadian leadership debate. I personally think they should all be bussed over the boarder and told never to return. But maybe that is just me.