Quick Note Between Talks, Again
Oct. 3rd, 2008 09:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thebookpileI watched the English debate. I certainly haven't been a big fan of Elizabeth May, but I thought she did really well last night. A lot of people seem to think that Jack Layton or Stephen Harper won. Not for me. May came across as the most knowledgeable person sitting at the table, and the quickest on her feet. Had she not started talking over the moderator during the second hour, I would have said that she had the best performance possible for a first-time participant.
Stéphane Dion had a shocker...at least by my standards, which aren't likely shared by others. When he talked into the camera, I felt like I was a child and that he was calmly explaining why I should look both ways before crossing the road. I much preferred the feisty Dion from the French debate (particularly when he took on Layton on Afghanistan, which, for my money, was the best exchange in French). I wish the Liberals had stuck with that feisty style but the party has its own polls that no doubt guided Dion's strategy.
Stephen Harper's continuous use of "Let's be clear" reminded me Paul Martin's "Make no mistake". In both cases, it seemed to be an indication that the words that followed had been memorized by rote beforehand to be delivered robotically during the debate. I was unimpressed but I think others will think he did just enough. Personally, I saw someone phoning in his performance. In fact, the entire Conservative campaign seems to be about "phoning it in" ever since the juvenile Conservative war-roomers were beaten down after the first week of the campaign.
I'm getting so tired of Duceppe. I'm just glad he had some new talking points, unlike in 2006, when he essentially recycled his notes from 2004 and gave almost a word-for-word repeat of that performance.
But that's the opinion of one guy, who watched the debate alone after a long day in his hotel room in Hamilton. Your mileage may vary!
Stéphane Dion had a shocker...at least by my standards, which aren't likely shared by others. When he talked into the camera, I felt like I was a child and that he was calmly explaining why I should look both ways before crossing the road. I much preferred the feisty Dion from the French debate (particularly when he took on Layton on Afghanistan, which, for my money, was the best exchange in French). I wish the Liberals had stuck with that feisty style but the party has its own polls that no doubt guided Dion's strategy.
Stephen Harper's continuous use of "Let's be clear" reminded me Paul Martin's "Make no mistake". In both cases, it seemed to be an indication that the words that followed had been memorized by rote beforehand to be delivered robotically during the debate. I was unimpressed but I think others will think he did just enough. Personally, I saw someone phoning in his performance. In fact, the entire Conservative campaign seems to be about "phoning it in" ever since the juvenile Conservative war-roomers were beaten down after the first week of the campaign.
I'm getting so tired of Duceppe. I'm just glad he had some new talking points, unlike in 2006, when he essentially recycled his notes from 2004 and gave almost a word-for-word repeat of that performance.
But that's the opinion of one guy, who watched the debate alone after a long day in his hotel room in Hamilton. Your mileage may vary!