All Quiet on the Western Front

I was out and about today on this, the second Sunday of the campaign, and I couldn't help but notice how quiet it was. For it seemed that the by-election that came screaming out of the gate was oddly silent now, but then again that could have to do with the long weekend.

But then again, maybe a little quiet is a good thing after the verbal throwdowns of the past week that have included a high-profile Liberal calling Gloria Kovach "a sheep." (Actually, it was Scott Brison and the quote was that Kovach was “part of Stephen Harper's flock of sheep.” Jinkies, that sounds pretty bad, but I think there were more diplomatic ways for Brison to make his point, which referenced a Mercury article in which Kovach spoke of Federal compensation for Steven Truscott saying, "The issue of funding is not a local issue and those questions are best directed to the PMO press office."

All this hullabaloo caused a Macleans blogger to observe, "If the by-election in Guelph is any indication, a general election this fall could be among the most dispiriting in recent memory." I think that's kind of hard to judge right now, because I can't be sure that after the months and months and months and a year to build up an election blood lust, if people just aren't getting stuff off their chest. At least I hope they are.

Anyway, Elections Canada now has its list of confirmed candidates online. As you can imagine, it acknowledges the Big Four and no one else, although that may change. Candidates have until August 18th to get their nomination papers in to be put on the ballot.

Also online now is the August 1st edition of the CFRU program "The Press Conference" in which I partook as a guest panelist. We had some good discussion, some groovy tunes and even a caller. If you missed it, you can head over to the CFRU website and look it up on the archives. The show's on 93.3 fm every Friday at 1 pm.