11:02 - Okay, so that was pretty lively. Harper got smoked in a junk pile though. Dion stood pretty strong, but I'm not sure if it was strong enough. Layton was solid, Duceppe got in numerous well placed points and May was a breath of fresh air I thought; I'm glad she finally made it. Well, that's it for tonight. Daily Show time, and then I want to see the repeat of Biden/Palin.
But this was fun, I liked it. Sorry, but Jon Stewart made a Balki from Perfect Strangers jokes and I can't focus.
10:58 - Time out. That went fast.
10:57 - Ah, Dion. So polite...
10:55 - Those lav mics really pick up sound good. Oh, and May had a good point there.
10:54 - Yeah, but Danny Williams never hated Chretien or Martin the way he rrrreeeeaaalllllyyy hates Harper
10:53 - Gotta love the way Layton can talk broadly despite never forming a government
10:52 - Layton refers to self in third person - not good.
10:51 - The sweater is nice. Very Cameron Frye.
10:51 - Yes, take a look at the invisible Harper platform
10:50 - 10 minute mark, folks
10:47 - Ugh. I hate this discussion. "I don't know who to vote for." "Nobody talks to me." "I don't trust politicians."
Look, if you don't think anyone on the ballot talks to you, (and that's a hard place to be in Guelph with 10 people on the ballot) you can cast an unmarked ballot... and it's still counted. Can you imagine if everyone that didn't vote cast blank ballots and what kind of statement that can make?
10:46 - Income trust, Harper's fatal weakness
10:44 - Interesting. We can't afford $5 billion on income splitting, but we can afford all these new tax credits
10:43 - Uh, oh... Okay, that wasn't going were I thought it was going.
10:40 - "Keep surpluses!" That's a bold statement considering the global economy, and probably untrue given some of the rumours coming out of Ottawa that we're already in deficit country.
10:39 - Dion's answer surprised me, I thought for sure he was going to lean on the Green Shift. But shoring up the economy - good call.
10:37 - Big burn by Duceppe, but at least he's honest about his chances
10:36 - 2 to go.... time flies
10:35 - This pie in the sky for Layton.
10:33 - Nice try. I think we all know that if Harper was PM in '03, Canadians would be dying in Iraq now.
10:31 - Oops, potential trap for Harper.
"Absolutely in error," Harper on invading Iraq. You heard it here last
10:31 - Eep, heard that before. And I don't just mean the Liberals
10:27 - "History free zone," exactly. No one wants to see Afghanistan fall backwards again.
10:23 - Ooh Kitchener... But I don't know that guy.
10:21 - Exactly. If any example proves the correlation between poverty and crime it's the case of Canada's Native peoples .
10:17 - Exactly. Ask a lawyer about the practicalities of the law. The neo-con view of the law is so far from the intent enshrined they're not nearly the same.
10:16 - I love that. "We didn't cut literacy, we just cut literacy programs."
10:15 - I'll do Layton one better, do we need hand guns period? Are you going to go hunting with a hand gun?
10:12 - Oh, here we go...
10:11 - Right on! It's a perception that violent crime is going up, it's not really. Listening to some people, you'd think we're living in Gotham City.
10:10 - That was brief.
10:09 - I just noticed this, but Harper is wearing a Canadian flag pin. Give. Me. A. Break. Really? Is this the kind of mind game the PM is playing here? The "I'm a real patriot because I wear the flag game." Come on!
10:08 - Right on! Don't tell me its not ideological.
"More fun in Canada." Well, I'm all for that.
10:06 - Yes, they were so ineffective. Which is why there was such a big outcry about the cuts, it's not like anyone's taking advantage of these programs.
10:03 - Barbarians? But I like Dion's answer, I think, like US neo-cons, Harper sees artists as the enemy
10:02 - Tax credit for the arts. That makes me laugh. We'll give you a tax credit to enroll your kids in the arts, but when they're adults we won't help them to make a living.
10:01 - I love that. The arts are fun, says Dion
9:59 - Sweet. Good topic.
9:56 - That was a weird camera angle (Duceppe and Harper)
9:55 - Word.
9:53 - SINCE WHEN? Again, read that speech!
9:50 - Sorry, but Harper's critique of 90s Liberal cuts really leaves a bad taste in my mouth considering his past remarks. And considering that Tony Clement is now our federal health minister after everything that went down when he held the job in Ontario...
9:49 - That's a killer for the Liberals. Their fiscal policy in the 90s did some harm in the healthcare sector.
9:46 - Whales? I guess that's something.
9:44 - Visual aids, Mr. Duceppe?
9:43 - "How we're dealing with the tar sands..." Now that's "lazy fair" policy.
9:39 - "Don't believe this man." Man, I don't want to mess with Dion right now.
9:38 - I've never seen Dion snippy. Man, he's getting intense.
9:35 - Finally, address the questioner Layton!
9:34 - He knows what page its on in the French version?
9:33 - That was a good point about Bob Rae.
9:31 - Again, who said increase taxes?
"Under the sweater!" Layton, that was awesome!
9:27 - ...yet.
9:27 - "Lazy fair?"
9:25 - Harper looks like he's being spoon fed castor oil
9:23 - Well, so many manufacturing jobs have been created to replace the lost ones under Harper's policy, oh wait...
9:22 - Good question!
9:19 - lol. Duceppe really wants that tax credit. ;-)
9:17 - "You should be on the way out too." Snap! That one goes to Layton.
9:17 - Boo ya! If you haven't read that speech, read that speech. It'll make you want to punch someone out.
9:14 - Right on, Dion! he's got to be strong like this if he wants to come out of the debate better off than he went into. He has to come up more to May and Layton's level of attack. I want to see passion!
9:13 - I've gotta say, I'm lovin' this format.
Oh, and Harper's getting smoked.
9:12 - Uh, which opposition parties have announced tax increases?
9:08 - THANK YOU! Where is the CPC platform?
9:07 - Because Paul Martin told the banks No on sub-prime mortgages.
9:07 - Yeah, thanks to Paul Martin!
9:06 - "The invisible hand is in hand with the oil companies" - Nice.
9:04 - I thought the point was to address the questioner, Harper.
9:03 - Elizabeth May really smoked through that first question, can't say I agree with everything she said, but she certainly showed a commanding control of the issue
9:00 - Here we go
8:38 - The English-language debate gets underway in just over 20 minutes. When it begins, I'll begin to blog live from beginning to end. I've never done this before so it should be interesting. I hope some people (body?) follows along, after all, I'm sacrificing watching the Biden-Palin debate to give my full attention to homegrown politics. Anyway, see you in a few...
But this was fun, I liked it. Sorry, but Jon Stewart made a Balki from Perfect Strangers jokes and I can't focus.
10:58 - Time out. That went fast.
10:57 - Ah, Dion. So polite...
10:55 - Those lav mics really pick up sound good. Oh, and May had a good point there.
10:54 - Yeah, but Danny Williams never hated Chretien or Martin the way he rrrreeeeaaalllllyyy hates Harper
10:53 - Gotta love the way Layton can talk broadly despite never forming a government
10:52 - Layton refers to self in third person - not good.
10:51 - The sweater is nice. Very Cameron Frye.
10:51 - Yes, take a look at the invisible Harper platform
10:50 - 10 minute mark, folks
10:47 - Ugh. I hate this discussion. "I don't know who to vote for." "Nobody talks to me." "I don't trust politicians."
Look, if you don't think anyone on the ballot talks to you, (and that's a hard place to be in Guelph with 10 people on the ballot) you can cast an unmarked ballot... and it's still counted. Can you imagine if everyone that didn't vote cast blank ballots and what kind of statement that can make?
10:46 - Income trust, Harper's fatal weakness
10:44 - Interesting. We can't afford $5 billion on income splitting, but we can afford all these new tax credits
10:43 - Uh, oh... Okay, that wasn't going were I thought it was going.
10:40 - "Keep surpluses!" That's a bold statement considering the global economy, and probably untrue given some of the rumours coming out of Ottawa that we're already in deficit country.
10:39 - Dion's answer surprised me, I thought for sure he was going to lean on the Green Shift. But shoring up the economy - good call.
10:37 - Big burn by Duceppe, but at least he's honest about his chances
10:36 - 2 to go.... time flies
10:35 - This pie in the sky for Layton.
10:33 - Nice try. I think we all know that if Harper was PM in '03, Canadians would be dying in Iraq now.
10:31 - Oops, potential trap for Harper.
"Absolutely in error," Harper on invading Iraq. You heard it here last
10:31 - Eep, heard that before. And I don't just mean the Liberals
10:27 - "History free zone," exactly. No one wants to see Afghanistan fall backwards again.
10:23 - Ooh Kitchener... But I don't know that guy.
10:21 - Exactly. If any example proves the correlation between poverty and crime it's the case of Canada's Native peoples .
10:17 - Exactly. Ask a lawyer about the practicalities of the law. The neo-con view of the law is so far from the intent enshrined they're not nearly the same.
10:16 - I love that. "We didn't cut literacy, we just cut literacy programs."
10:15 - I'll do Layton one better, do we need hand guns period? Are you going to go hunting with a hand gun?
10:12 - Oh, here we go...
10:11 - Right on! It's a perception that violent crime is going up, it's not really. Listening to some people, you'd think we're living in Gotham City.
10:10 - That was brief.
10:09 - I just noticed this, but Harper is wearing a Canadian flag pin. Give. Me. A. Break. Really? Is this the kind of mind game the PM is playing here? The "I'm a real patriot because I wear the flag game." Come on!
10:08 - Right on! Don't tell me its not ideological.
"More fun in Canada." Well, I'm all for that.
10:06 - Yes, they were so ineffective. Which is why there was such a big outcry about the cuts, it's not like anyone's taking advantage of these programs.
10:03 - Barbarians? But I like Dion's answer, I think, like US neo-cons, Harper sees artists as the enemy
10:02 - Tax credit for the arts. That makes me laugh. We'll give you a tax credit to enroll your kids in the arts, but when they're adults we won't help them to make a living.
10:01 - I love that. The arts are fun, says Dion
9:59 - Sweet. Good topic.
9:56 - That was a weird camera angle (Duceppe and Harper)
9:55 - Word.
9:53 - SINCE WHEN? Again, read that speech!
9:50 - Sorry, but Harper's critique of 90s Liberal cuts really leaves a bad taste in my mouth considering his past remarks. And considering that Tony Clement is now our federal health minister after everything that went down when he held the job in Ontario...
9:49 - That's a killer for the Liberals. Their fiscal policy in the 90s did some harm in the healthcare sector.
9:46 - Whales? I guess that's something.
9:44 - Visual aids, Mr. Duceppe?
9:43 - "How we're dealing with the tar sands..." Now that's "lazy fair" policy.
9:39 - "Don't believe this man." Man, I don't want to mess with Dion right now.
9:38 - I've never seen Dion snippy. Man, he's getting intense.
9:35 - Finally, address the questioner Layton!
9:34 - He knows what page its on in the French version?
9:33 - That was a good point about Bob Rae.
9:31 - Again, who said increase taxes?
"Under the sweater!" Layton, that was awesome!
9:27 - ...yet.
9:27 - "Lazy fair?"
9:25 - Harper looks like he's being spoon fed castor oil
9:23 - Well, so many manufacturing jobs have been created to replace the lost ones under Harper's policy, oh wait...
9:22 - Good question!
9:19 - lol. Duceppe really wants that tax credit. ;-)
9:17 - "You should be on the way out too." Snap! That one goes to Layton.
9:17 - Boo ya! If you haven't read that speech, read that speech. It'll make you want to punch someone out.
9:14 - Right on, Dion! he's got to be strong like this if he wants to come out of the debate better off than he went into. He has to come up more to May and Layton's level of attack. I want to see passion!
9:13 - I've gotta say, I'm lovin' this format.
Oh, and Harper's getting smoked.
9:12 - Uh, which opposition parties have announced tax increases?
9:08 - THANK YOU! Where is the CPC platform?
9:07 - Because Paul Martin told the banks No on sub-prime mortgages.
9:07 - Yeah, thanks to Paul Martin!
9:06 - "The invisible hand is in hand with the oil companies" - Nice.
9:04 - I thought the point was to address the questioner, Harper.
9:03 - Elizabeth May really smoked through that first question, can't say I agree with everything she said, but she certainly showed a commanding control of the issue
9:00 - Here we go
8:38 - The English-language debate gets underway in just over 20 minutes. When it begins, I'll begin to blog live from beginning to end. I've never done this before so it should be interesting. I hope some people (body?) follows along, after all, I'm sacrificing watching the Biden-Palin debate to give my full attention to homegrown politics. Anyway, see you in a few...
I appreciate what you've done here. The only thing I would say, is you could have put somethings into context better.
ReplyDeleteSome points I know exactly what you're talking abot (That Bob Rae-line was VERY good), but others I'm drawing a blank.
All-in-all, I appreciate the post, and you're not the only one who missed Biden V Palin.
Have a good day
Mike Wisniewski
P.S. Read my column Oct. 8th!