Canadian National Debates: An Exercise in Blah.

Canadians are famous for being dull. While this stereotype is not entirely accurate, we don't help matters sometimes.

Nonetheless, Canada not only suffers with a helplessly divided and fragmented political and cultural landscape but with tiresome parochial grievances that threaten the Confederation. This problem is made worse by the sad reality that there is no enlightened leadership in Canada. Intellectually ideas are stagnant and politically the will to foster change is coated with paralysis.

And so it is with the National debates, which fall on the dull side of the equation. Before we delve into this further please allow me to introduce the two players and the two pretenders. The incumbent Prime Minister Paul Martin from the Liberal Party and the challenger, Stephen Harper of the Conservatives. And the other guys. Jack Layton of the New Socialist Party. Kidding, New Democrat Party (NDP) and Gilles Duceppe of the Bloc Québecois. In fairness to Gilles, I am from Quebec, though I will never truly be a part of their nationalist experiment. I must confess that the Bloc do have some interesting things to say on some issues. That's the only thing I'll say from now on since in principal I stand on the opposite side of their ideological divide.

They - and this goes for the NDP also - believe in the role of big government in society. I don't. They depend on government intervention to solve all our ills. I believe in the individual. The individual is its own best form of governance.

Watching these debates is akin to watching sponge cake rise. One got the distinct feeling things were going immediately astray when the attire of the two main principles - Tory leader Harper and Pauly 'Nowhere Man' Martin - made clear they weren't about to take a page out of the Gianni Versace playbook for daring style. Harper wore a blue tie and Martin a red. This is about as daring as they got as each represented the colors of their respective party's. Break out the fresh new face Canada needs! I forgot what the other two wore. What do Communists and Marxists wear?

I'm not about to rehash the typical and stagnant ideas proposed. What I am prepared to comment about is the fact that Harper - like on the last debates a couple of years ago - is by far the most articulate speaker. He dares to touch issues some Canadians (and the media save the National Post) consider taboo. For example, increased military spending, tax cuts and improved relations with the United States.

As for Martin he stutters too much and his party is to be directly held responsible for Canada's falling international reputation. Worse, he refuses to be accountable for the Liberal's bizarre poor imitation of Roman hubris and excess in the form of criminal corruption. How stupid are Canadians to even consider voting them in based on the number of investigations they are under?

The remaining panel included the icicle eyed Duceppe who is a conflict of interest onto himself (he's a Marxist - though who knows these days. How seriously can we take people who benefit from a capitalist structure based on freedom but who turn around and embrace impractical and failed ideologies that at their core run contrary to Western values? - fyi, he collects rent) and Jack Layton just seems to talk to himself - to me anyway.

Intermittently watching the pow-wow I noticed a new intellectual trend, as every solution to every question seemed to either be restrict handguns or have more women in Parliament. "You know, Mr. Moderator. I have the answer to the question of unemployment. Restrict handguns! Have more women in Parliament!"

In fact, some of the solutions tabled were simply based on old wives tales or flawed assumptions - as usual. How the electoral process is linked with low voter turn out is beyond me, Jackie. There are other reasons for this I am sure.

As I kept coming back to the discussions, I kept wondering what it would have been like to have a true third voice in the mix. Alas, this is Canada and we can't have true competition, eh?

In the end, the leaders failed to stake any major claims. That's what happens when a country is in a rut like Canada is. It's hard to take a major stand on certain issues for fear of a backlash.

For those of us waiting on a new dynamic Canada, it's clear we'll have to wait.