E Minus 14: Debate Notes

From last night's English language debate in Montreal, a review of the leaders performances:

Stephen Harper - "If you know me, you know I'm not about passion and I'm not about spin". Unfortunately for Harper, the Undecided left Monday night's debate still wondering what exactly he and the Conservatives are about. It's one thing to support a balance between Parliament and the courts when it comes to the Charter of Rights, it's another to think out loud about tinkering with the Constitution to do everything from appeasing Quebec sovereigntists and enshrining property rights. To the CPC leader's credit, he stayed composed, on message, and didn't take much of the bait from Paul Martin. However, if patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, Harper was hiding out there 49 minutes into the debate when Martin brought up the CPC leader's assorted right-wing love-ins with Republicans and other American Conservative groups.

Paul Martin - The Prime Minister was better than expected. This page thought Canadians would see desperation and a little fear-mongering, what we got was a surprising amount of resolve, a string of goodies, and a couple of chips on his shoulder. One chip was the Gomery Inquiry, and his anger and frustration in how it's played out. Gomery was supposed to be Martin's chance to flush the Liberal Party of any Chretienite influence, but instead, whether or not he and the cabinet have been cleared of any wrongdoing, he's spinning down the drain too. The other chip was the Notwithstanding Clause, and his challenge to Stephen Harper to try and knock that chip off his shoulder. If the debate had a "tune in tomorrow" or "vous allez voir" moment, this would be it.

Jack Layton - The NDP leader is starting to come off as much more serious and a little stiff, which isn't a bad thing: the stiffness makes it harder for the Liberals to squeeze out soft NDP support. As much as this page has questioned why New Democrats never talk about electing a government, it was Layton who kept it most in voters' minds that there's an election in two weeks, and that we have "A third option" and "A better choice". Not only did Layton relate to the audience better than Harper or Martin, he also did a better job driving home policy planks: "The NDP will do A, B, and C, vote for us January 23" Anyone who believes the New Democrats regard Conservatives and Liberals as the same should now be aware that Layton and the NDP think the Liberals are corrupt, and that the Conservatives are just plain wrong.

Gilles Duceppe - Last night was the first time this page remembers the English language debate preceding the French language one, and I think that debating in French first always worked to Duceppe's advantage, giving him the chance to find his feet in his first language and debate rings around his opponents. It was pretty much the same Duceppe from the first set of debates, but that trademark sharp wit seemed a little dull as he once again raked Paul Martin over the coals concerning Gomery. At one point, he almost took the bait from Martin to duke it out in French over national unity, which to this page illustrates the absurdity of having separate French and English debates. It's not like the House of Commons has separate French and English sittings.