What to do, what to do?
Mae West famously said it best: an ounce of performance is worth a pound of promises. So what to make of the many—many—promises Justin Trudeau’s Liberals made during the election campaign? By any standard, Trudeau proffered plenty of pledges. He did so, perhaps, because of the length of the campaign—it was a marathon, after all, […]
The three most plausible explanations for election results
TORONTO—What happened? In politics, as in life, the simplest explanation—while beguiling—is not always the best one. So, too, was the interminable Canadian general election of 2015. No single thing can account for a change this big. “Big” is the only way to describe what transpired during the nearly 80-day campaign, and its culmination on […]
Trudeau greatly exceeded everyone’s expectations
TORONTO—And so it ends, with a whimper and not a bang. Well, sort of. The whimpers are emanating from us, the electorate, having been forced to endure nearly 80 days of electioneering. If there is a bang, however, it will come a bit later, in the form of leadership changes. Stephen Harper and Thomas Mulcair […]
Dippers are dipping, at precisely the wrong time
TORONTO—The NDP seems to be losing. How come? By the time you read this, their barrage of anti-Trudeau attack ads may have put them back in contention. And perhaps Thomas Mulcair had a good showing in that final French-language debate, and he clobbered Stephen Harper. And maybe the party has figured out a way to […]
Quest for a majority isn’t happening in this election, it’s the next one
TORONTO—The top of the much-read National Newswatch web page kind of said it all. “NDP OUT IN FRONT AS CONSERVATIVES TRAIL IN THIRD: ENVIRONICS,” said one headline. The very next headline: “CONSERVATIVES TAKE NARROW LEAD, NEW POLL SHOWS.” And, the third headline: “VOTERS IN FAVOUR OF LIBERAL ECONOMIC PLAN, BUT UNSURE ABOUT TRUDEAU: POLL.” Got […]
Trudeau’s a great retail campaigner, but paid campaign plays into his weakness
Words are about information. Pictures are about emotion. Emotion equals power. Print folks—the ones who pour their souls into writing newspapers and magazines, the ones who craft profound essays for blogs, the ones who toil in government offices and conjure up grand speeches—like to believe that words matter still. But, mostly, they don’t. The people […]
Harper won the debate
TORONTO—The first debate has come and gone, and was seen by all the hacks in the land. Every politico was glued to their armchairs, watching Stephen, Thomas, Justin, and Elizabeth duke it out—and, occasionally, switching channels to take in some of the Republican presidential freak show. But real folks? Joe and Jane Frontporch, as we […]
Adams’ nomination loss is good news, bad news for Liberals
TORONTO—The good news for the Liberal Party is that Eve Adams lost. The bad news for the Liberal Party is that Eve Adams lost. Confused? Don’t be. The crushing defeat of the former Conservative MP in Eglinton-Lawrence a week ago is simultaneously good and bad. It is good because it showed that the Liberal Party’s […]
Trudeau campaign like watching a monkey with a machine gun
TORONTO—For Justin Trudeau, the headlines haven’t been very good, recently. Here are some: “Liberals falling further behind NDP-Conservative race”; “Former Liberal acclaimed as NDP candidate”; “Trudeau switches targets in bid to cut Mulcair’s momentum”; “Brian Gallant won’t campaign for federal Liberals during election”; “This is still Harper’s election to lose”; and “EKOS poll: Tories are […]
Politics not immune to culture’s triumph of stupidity
My Conservative friend (yes, I have some) posted something noteworthy on Facebook. It was a picture of a sign bearing the words: STOP MAKING STUPID PEOPLE FAMOUS. In this week, the Kanye West week, it struck a chord. Most of the stuff one sees elsewhere on Facebook isn’t as noteworthy. There is the footage of […]
