Canadian National Debate

In typical Canadian fashion the debate held in French was civil. Don't look to us for dynamic and hyped up politics. In a way, it does help to focus on the issues.

My thoughts are to follow. Parental discretion is advised. Not for vulgarity but tenuous observations.

It was an interesting debate. Sitting around a table the leaders of two major parties, one minor party and two fringe parties, kicked back and debated each other. For my taste, Stephane Dion had the most to lose and gain so how did he do?

Often criticized for his nerdy and soft demeanor Stephane Dion showed some moxy tonight. Who knew?

I have to say, Stephane Dion did well. He spoke with conviction, was willing to go on the attack and presented his platform clearly. Dion knew what was on the line and he managed to get me to take him seriously.

For his part, Stephen Harper was just a little too relaxed. He has a full grasp of the issues and possesses the intellectual capacity to debate them calmly and with substance. He chose not to for some reason. He simply sat back and answered the questions and attacks by the other four parties. I thought he could have expressed new ideas and defended his positions with more, shall we say, believability. I expect a better performance in English.

The other three - Jack Layton, Gilles Duceppe and Elizabeth May - all played their usual roles. Obviously, Layton is the most credible on a national level but his party's policies don't resonate with me.

While it was just to allow May to debate, it's clear she was a tad in over her head at the table. There's a lot of room to mature and grow in stature with the Green Party. Nonetheless, she accounted herself well all things considered.

All in all I would have preferred to see a little more of a slugfest - or at least some heavy challenges. Then again, the baseball playoffs are on which explains why slugging would be of interest to me in a debate.

Just a quick thought about Afghanistan. Harper is taking a lot of heat for sticking around over there. The calls for withdrawal overlook one simple thing: we committed to Afghanistan. The government of Canada under the Liberals pledged troops under a UN mandate until 2011. Harper is choosing to abide by this. We must honor our decision and Dion surprisingly said as much. Keeping ones word counts for something in life. It's no different with national governments. Suppose, in one scenario, Canada pulls out and Afghanistan does succeed. How would we be viewed by Afghani's?

Pulling out would damage our credibility. It's as simple as that.