Yes we carve

Possibly my favourite web campaign of the Presidential election thus far.

Check it out at www.yeswecarve.com

We're taking a little break

As you've probably noticed, there's not much going on in this little corner of cyberspape of late.

It may remain that way for a little while. But we'll be back. Maybe.

Post mortem, etc.

I didn't follow this Ottawa Citizen Blackberry Roundtable weekly piece during the election. I think I may have read it once, but the latest edition, which you can also find over at Kady O'Malley's blog, is very good. Well worth the read.

On being "greeted as liberators"...

Maybe Dick Cheney and John McCain were right.



Here, living proof. Look at the throngs of enthusiastic supporters.

Meanwhile, back in Dannystan...

... if it were happening in Zimbabwe, this would likely make the national news in Canada.
But it's happening in Canada, so it doesn't.

Oh, and...

www.democraticspace.com is back online after some server issues. I imagine it'll be a popular page throughout the day.

The most interesting thing that hit me as I went scrolling through the seat projections pages is that there is only one seat in all of Canada which the NDP are even threatening to gain from the Tories. It's St. John's East, which should be a slam dunk and has nothing to do with national trends whatsoever.

So if, as Jack Layton was so adamant yesterday, he is intent on (a) running for Prime Minister and (b) defeating Stephen Harper then why is he spending all of his time in Liberal-held ridings???

ABC and CBC

At least they're consistent. CBC Newfoundland and Labrador's coverage of the federal election is the same on the final day as it was on the first... this election is all about Him.

Dear Tory War Room

FYI - Alleging undue foreign influence on the Canadian election campaign, after your leader has been busted for cribbing foreign policy word-for-word from the Prime Minister of Australia is pretty stupid.

Layton's logic

On day 35 of 36, this is what it's apparently come to:

You should not vote Liberal, because the Liberals kept the Tories in power.
You should vote NDP, because the NDP put the Tories in power.

Aha. Now I get it.

Scrutinizing CTV and the Globe and Mail

What's even more worrisome than the fact that three ballot boxes went missing is that half of our national media who purport to cover elections don't seem to know the difference between a scrutineer and a deputy returning officer.

"The boxes contained votes from advance polls conducted Oct. 3-6. They were reported missing after the riding's returning officer ordered scrutineers to return all the ballot boxes in light of a news report that the seal on a box had been broken."

"The boxes were stored at the home of scrutineer Jessica Bouchard-Banville, who had been away when Quebec police obtained a search warrant on Saturday in their attempt to retrieve them."

-The Globe and Mail

Same at CTV, who ran a story all day yesterday about ballot boxes being taken home by scrutineers. I'd link to it, but the story is no longer on line. There's a segment on last night's newscast, here.

Thankfully, some got the story right:

"They were all held at the same house in which three assistant returning officers reside, Elections Canada spokesperson Gilles Paquin said."

- The Toronto Star

"The mystery of the missing boxes arose after Elections Canada asked deputy returning officers to take ballot boxes home from advance polls earlier this month in the riding of Québec."

- CBC

Scrutineers are partisan officials who represent candidates' interests in overseeing the voting process and the counting of ballots. Deputy returning officers are Elections Canada officials who actually administer the voting process in their poll.

The suggestion that party officials would be sent home with the ballot boxes before they're counted is quite a different news story than one in which Elections Canada workers do.

The Pondering Pandering Pending election

A week of "pondering"?
...or
A moment of "pandering"?

Palin

John McCain's favourite word used to be "experience".

Then he chose Sarah Palin as his running mate, and he's had a hard time uttering the word with a straight face ever since.

John McCain's other favourite word is "bipartisanship".

Well, here's a lesson in bipartisanship. Courtesy of a unanimous vote of the Alaska State Legislature.

Ouch.

The Globe and Mail

What a busy, topsy-turvy day it's been over at the Globe.

This morning, they endorse Harper as the best choice for Prime Minister.

Tonight? A very, very different story.

Race tightens. Jack Layton gives up.

Jack Layton, thirty-0ne days ago:

"Today, Stephen Harper announced he is quitting as Prime Minister. And so, today I’m applying for his job."

Speech - Ottawa, September 7, 2008

Ah, but that was then. This is now.

The Peter Principle (III)

I guess this makes it a trifecta.

What a 48 hours it has been for Elmer's Lad.

First, he attacked Elizabeth May for campaigning outside of the riding.
Then he promptly announced that he, too, was going campaigning outside of the riding.
Clever.

Next, he told Newfoundland voters that provinces which didn't elect a Conservative Member would suffer the fate of having horrible representation. Forgetting, of course that he himself is the regional minister representing the only other province with no Conservative Member. Way to kick yourself in the 'nads there, Peter.

And today, he attacked Green Leader Elizabeth May on CTV for cutting a backroom "deal" with another party. That's right, this guy, lecturing about the ethics of backroom deals among political parties.

Think about it. On paper, this guy runs our military.

The Peter Principle (II)

... in which Peter Mackay outdoes himself. Reminding every Newfoundlander that the worst possible outcome of an election would be to have someone from out of province represent them in a Harper cabinet.

Afterall, guess what happens when an Island doesn't vote Conservative? You'll never guess how those provinces get punished...

...they get stuck with a mainlander.* Like Peter Mackay.

Punishment enough, I suppose.

*his choice of words, not mine

The Peter Principle

News Item: Peter MacKay criticizes Elizabeth May for campaigning outside of riding (CTV)
News Item: Peter MacKay to campaign outside of riding (VOCM)

Dumb and dumber

There are days when the Letters to the Editor section of the Weekend Telegram is full of intelligent commentary and insightful stuff.

Today is not one of those days.

Two letter-writers who seem to believe that voters in Newfoundland and Labrador are either incredibly stupid or unable to think for themselves.

A pity, really.

Campaigning 101

This is sheer stupidity. A Nova Scotia Tory candidate had her Calgary-based autodialer calling voters at all hours of the night. As CBC reports:

"The candidate's effort to reach out to voters backfired when a Calgary-based automated call system didn't factor in a three-hour time difference before sending out a pre-recorded phone pitch on Webber's behalf."

Lesson number one - always, always, always use a local supplier.

In some respects this is not surprising. The party that cribs its Parliamentary speeches from Australia might just as well call its Dartmouth voters from Calgary.

And note the end of the article:

"The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission says what happened in Dartmouth-Cole Harbour is technically a violation, but it won't act unless there is a complaint."

Here's where it gets funny. Someone should file a complaint, just for the heck of it.

And if you do file a complaint, guess who'll probably deal with it?

....the former Tory candidate in Dartmouth Cole Harbour, of course.

Friday Fun!

The first rolling sample featuring debate reaction is up over at Nanos.

I think there are two striking stories here:

(1) The leadership index - if the French debate was the first time many voters got to see and assess Dion, then he made an impression. Everywhere.

(2) The Quebec numbers - it's probably time for certain Toronto Star columnists to stop calling La belle Province a two-party race.

Read with usual caution - these are rolling polls with small samples, and it's just one day.
Let's see if this holds, or if it marks the beginning of a trend.

ABC - Already Bitten Crackers*

*Ritz Crackers, I mean.

But seriously, isn't Williams two weeks too late to the punch?

Is this the best he's got at this stage?

Debate debriefed

This is not surprising. And it is interesting to compare post-debate analysis done by those who watched the debate in translation, and those who watched in French.

The francophone media, even those traditionally unkind to Dion were unanimous in calling this a three-person event. Layton and May were, in large part, irrelevant.

So who won? Well, nobody really, but in a debate it comes down to accomplishing one or all of three things: (i) Be the best performer (ii) Exceed expectations (iii) Accomplish a set objective.

(i) Best performer

With 12 of these Leaders’ debates behind him already, and never having to play defense on anything, the French debate usually belongs to Gilles Duceppe. He is an eloquent speaker, and can get away with saying just about anything in any debate of any format. Unless he seriously trips, the "best performance" prize is usually his to lose. He was on again last night, although not as dominant as in past debates, owing to the fact that he had more to do than simply bark at a Liberal incumbent as in past debates. Nevertheless he’s the best speaker on the stage, or in this format, le meilleur autour de la table. That comes as no surprise, and the language barrier simply give him and Stephane Dion an edge over the other three by a country mile.

(ii) Exceed expectations

For weeks, the Quebec media, (and some of the English press) have been referring to the campaign in that province as a two-way race. Polls say otherwise, and last night Stephane Dion seemed to win over even his harshest critics in the Quebec political press gallery. In terms of exceeding expectations, hands-down that distinction goes to Dion, and today’s headlines and columns everywhere seem to reflect it. Any objective analysis would also show that Duceppe met expectations, and Harper may have as well. It’s hard to ascertain if the other two had any to meet. If this was going to be a coming out party for the NDP or the Greens in Quebec, then both leaders must be disappointed today and will have to re-group for tonight’s performance in English, where they are likely to fare better.

(iii) Accomplish a set objective

Stephen Harper had to rag the puck, and show the audience that he was Prime Ministerial in the face of four opponents. He did that. It may have seemed boring at times, but that’s the nature of debating as an incumbent, particularly in this kind of format. Every story that describes the debate as a “gang up”, etc. essentially reflects Harper having accomplished that goal. A second look would also show that Stephane Dion chalked up an accomplishment, too. Every substantive article that goes beyond the performance in the debates is about Harper’s vulnerability on the economy, an issue that three days ago he was playing up as a strong suit, so Dion, too, can walk away having clearly accomplished a set objective.

In all, no clear winner, but given the Party’s need for some wind in their sails - particularly in Quebec – Liberals have to be pleased with last night’s performance, and more importantly, with today’s headlines.