By Doug Draper
What is it with that pimple or whatever it is protruding from the left side of Conservative leader Tim Hudak’s chin. And why isn’t it bulging from the RIGHT side? I’m sure I’m not the only viewer who found it distracting.
And what happened to NDP leader Andrea Horwath’s hair? She always had nice hair but it looked like she spent her debate-preparation time having it streaked and slicked down with some kind of petroleum product. Hopefully it was not manufactured by BP.
And why does Dalton McGuinty still look like Norman Bates?!
Other than that, the talking-point answers we voters were treated to during this debate are all available in the three leaders’ playbooks. Just read ‘em online, and nothin’ more need be said.
Like always, my dear brother and sister voters, we are rudderless and on our own. We most certainly are. Make no mistake about it.
By the way, less than eight minutes after this one-and-only Tuesday evening,. September 27 provincial leaders’ debate ended, this media outlet, and I’m sure almost every other one known in the province, received news releases from the Liberals and Conservatives that their leaders had won. We are still waiting to hear from the more modest NDP.
Opps, about 40 minutes to later the NDP came out with their gushing account of their leader’s performance. The NDP may be a little slower on the trigger but maybe – who knows – they put a little more thought in their media releases before they blow them out.
At the same time these glowing endorsements from the parties were coming in, those of us who could still stand listening to anything to do with provincial politics at all were watching the post-debate analysis where the TV channels, at least, featured talking heads from the three parties (i.e. – former Conservative cabinet minister Norman Sterling) saying what you would expect them to say about how well their party brethren did.
Can’t CBC, TVO and the others covering this thing find more neutral journalists for pundits to analyze these things, or is that too much trouble? Maybe it is too risky since perhaps all or most of them would name one leader or the other as the winner. So much safer to have three party hacks give predictable accounts of how well the leader of their parties did.
Good for them, but what a snore. I’m going to find a nice book that has nothing to do with Ontario politics to curl up in bed with now.
If you don’t like this analysis, and some of you surely won’t, no need to worry. By morning, the lame stream media will give you the more measured analysis you want, as if this debate really had some meat to it.
(You can share your comments on this post and the leaders’ debate below. You must, however, have the courage of the author of this post to share your full name or your comment won’t be accepted.)
Niagara At Large 
Miracles do happen. I agree with Doug Draper.
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As usual Doug, you are right on the money! What a waste of time! We really do need a “none of the above” box on the ballot!
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I just arrived home (it’s 11:15 p.m.) from Hamilton, where I attended a public forum on the CETA (that’s the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement) co-sponsored by the Council of Canadians and CUPE. The speakers included Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians, ever engaged with her topic, every passionately concerned about the locked out Local 1005 United Steel Workers in attendance, as well as many pensioners of the company who are seeing their benefits cut. As I listened to a quick recap about what happened to the Canadian steel industry and how that has affected workers and their families, I couldn’t help but compare this dose of hard reality with the first thirty minutes of the Ontario leaders debate that I heard on my car radio as I approached Hamilton. The optimistic chirruppings from Messrs. McGuinty and Hudak about “jobs, jobs, jobs” and “the knowledge economy” sounded particularly hollow in retrospect. And it’s all the things they DIDN’T say. Like the fact that new hires won’t have those pension plans to look forward to. Those kind of jobs are gone — and so our governments are going to have to pick up the slack when it comes to pensions. Yet the likes of Tim and Dalton refuse to raise corporate taxes to pay for the services that these companies used to provide for their workers…and, promises notwithstanding, what we have to look forward to is less, not more, of what we really need.
So thanks for this rueful and amusing analysis, Doug. I for one think you’re right on.
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Fiona:
I don’t remember what Andrea said about pension plans….
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We seem to be in a strange world where People aren’t allowed to move from one country to another to seek work, while Corporations can.
Didn’t Tim Horton’s move its head office back to Canada because of our lower corporate taxes? Won’t that provide more tax revenue to all governments from the extra people working in Canada?
How many companies might we drive out by Raising their taxes?
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No meat or potatoes here what a snore, sums up the debates precisely, they have a huge crediblity gap, Pinnochio had a nose that grew when he told a fib, I hate it when candidates insult our intelligence. most voters believe their drivel.
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Pingback: My Instant Analysis Of the Ontario Leaders’ Debate
Was that McGuinty or did Russel Oliver take his place? Was i the only one distracted by McGuinty’s hands? He waved his hands around more than a carnival pitchman. Only thing missing was 3 shells and a loonie. ShamWow anybody?
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OMG you people are as bad as those actors we saw last night – this crap will go on for as long as we have a political party system
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Fiona, you wouldn’t be the least bit biased would you?
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BEATING MCGUINTY IN THIS DEBATE AND ULTIMATELY THE ELECTION
SHOULD BE A “SLAM DUNK.” THIS YEAR. HUDAK COULDN’T LIGHT
A FIRE UNDER ANYONE’S ASS. DOESN’T HE REALIZE THAT MCGUINTY
IS THE PREMIER AND AND YOU DON’T DETHRONE THE “CHAMPION” BY
JUST PUTTING IN A GOOD PERFORMANCE .. YOU HAVE TO
BEAT THE HELL OUT OF HIM – CONVINCINGLY TO TAKE THE TITLE. .
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Norman Bates……..OMG, now I have connected the dots! I knew he looked familiar but couldn’t figure out who he looked like. I’m not taking any more showers ’til after he’s out of office!
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Great commentary, all!. Lots of fun and food for thought. I too watched the TV spectacular, (snore, zzzz) with John Doyle of the Globe and Mail’s admonishment in mind — he /she who looks at the camera and plays the Entertainment gain wins. At the last Federal Debate, it was clear that Ignatiieff’s advisors were not really advisors, as he never once looked into the lens, but kept scowling at OGL. Lost the debate right there.
I dunno who wins, but yes, that spot on Hudak’s cheek distracted, (could he not have had a little bandage and said he’d had a spot, something every human being can accept? Perhaps he is a machine, rather than a human being? Just asking. Horwath’s hair looked glued down, and with the Premier looking more than Norman Bates [ except for his chronic hand-moving— (we are told Michael Bryant was his TV advisor and possibly asked him to look more animated], he reminded me a bit of Norman Bates’ mother, strapped to her chair.
Who knows? Certainly not me.
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Dalton’s wild gesticulations were somehow reminiscent of a wind turbine reacting to an unstoppable force of nature. The winds of change.
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What always astounds me is how little attention we pay to the SUBSTANCE and POLICIES of our leaders – we much prefer to judge them on appearance and emotional appeal.
Even this forum -with people who care about government- has little discussion about who will what when elected. Why?
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Maybe we should put some “corporate citizens” on the ballots. Heninges, formerly of Welland, might be a start.
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Tax cuts have never created jobs. If people think that companies move here for tax rates, think again. In the US, they have to pay health insurance to keep their employees and that can be costly. Perhaps, the tax cuts advocates might also suggest we should also scrap our minimum wages, labour standards and other protections … maybe companies will move from China to Canada to give us more jobs. Wouldn’t that be a treat?
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