Musings on Greenwood

It’s hard to know where to begin.

In my opinion, Harper’s the winner because he stayed on message and remained Prime Ministerial.

These formats are usually rough on Harper. His debate performances in 2004 and 2008 were awful. He did much better in 2006 but tonight’s performance is far better than anything I’ve seen from him.

He seemed unflappable and confident. He’s also a consummate bullshitter. His version of the 2004 negotiations with the Bloc and the NDP was so absurd it hurt my feelings but he delivered his tale with deadpan certainty.

There is so much ammunition to be used against Harper and the opposition leaders barely touched him. I think Harper escaped better than unscathed. He gave his campaign a meager but much needed boost.

The other thing was that Harper seemed to argue one side of any given issue like fighter jets, crime and gun control while the other three made a united front on the other side.

So, if you agree with Harper, you’ve got one choice.

If you disagree, you’ve got three. A divided opposition vote.

Ignatieff turned in the worst performance but all three opposition leaders flopped. Iggy’s worst moment was where Harper goaded him into giving a mini-lecture about parliamentary democracy.

The Tories have hammered him as the “leader of the coalition” and Ignatieff almost tried to explain that opposition parties are allowed to form coalition governments in our system but he caught himself mid-sentence.

You can bet the Conservatives will pounce on that.

Layton is clearly at the end of his rope. He usually does extremely well in the federal debates. His performances in his three previous elections were fiery and aggressive.

He seemed feeble this time out.

His worst moment was over Bill 101 with Duceppe. Layton looked evasive and unsure.

Duceppe was the court jester which is his role in every English debate.

The only person who hit the nail on the head was Steve Paikin with his last question. In case you missed it, he asked all the leaders how they can cut taxes, raise spending and eliminate a massive deficit all at once.

That should have been the first question, not the last.

Anyways, onto the French debate tomorrow!

Ethan Rabidoux