Debate this suckas!
Guess what tonight is? No really, guess. Ya, you probably haven’t heard but I’ll let the beans spill on this inexplicable secret: tonight is the Leaders Debate. (You know, for the Alberta provincial election?) I’m not sure why it hasn’t been advertised more, but there you go; it’s tonight. Now you know.
Starting at 6:30 tonight you’ll be able to watch the leaders of four of the provinces nine official parties battle to put you to sleep first. The debate will be seen live on CTV, CBC, and Global. CityTV is showing back to back Friends reruns if that’s more your speed. (BTW, I thought CityTV was supposed to be the most community centred of all our TV stations? If so, why are they sitting this one out? Aside from the fact they probably think, are are probably right, that the majority of Albertans sadly just don’t care.)
I’ll post my thoughts after this stunning snooze fest comes to an end but what good are post-debate thoughts without pre-debate predictions. So here they are:
- Ed Stelmach will struggle with his command of the English language let alone details on his ridiculously over-hyped “plan” for Alberta’s future.
- Kevin Taft will slam the Premier on every issue he can possibly conceive a PC has done wrong on in the past decade. And he’ll end up looking like an uppity prick for doing it.
- Brian Mason will wisely attack Stelmach and be articulate doing it. He’ll then get off track and also attack Taft, for lord knows what – because the Alberta Liberals don’t have much in the way of accomplishments to attack.
- Paul Hinman will badger everyone (except possibly Brian Mason other than to call him a ‘tree hugger’) and at the end of it all he’ll be lucky if anyone remembers his name. No one will even bother to attack his policies – the greatest shame of all.
So there you have it. The debate in a nutshell. Now you don’t have to watch. Although if you haven’t made up your mind who you’re voting for or – heaven forbid – you are thinking of not even bothering to vote, I suggest you weather the storm with me and tune in at 6:30pm.
PS – I heard on the radio the other day that during commercial breaks while CTV and Global are trying to make a buck by shilling useless items like Ford trucks, Tide-to-Go sticks and political party policies, CBC will instead go to their analysts for, well… analysis. On the go.
30 Second Summary of the Alberta Election Thus Far
As we find ourselves passing the half-way point of the provincial election you have no doubt noticed I have pretty much been entirely silent during thus far. While I could blame my seemingly abandoned blog on the fact I was in Asia for the first third of the writ period, or the fact I’m still mad Premier Stelmach hasn’t apologised for calling an election while I was out of the country, or that I’m in the middle of packing for our upcoming move, I won’t. No, I won’t. Instead I blame it almost entirely on the fact there has been little if anything worth talking about. (That and I’m lazy.)
In that spirit I offer you here, my thirty second summary of what’s happened up to this point in the election:
- Ed Stelmach sounds like Woody Allen trying to make a quick decision each and every time he speaks. This is frustrating the majority of PC voters, members and candidates.
- Kevin Taft can make all the policy announcements he likes but people still aren’t saying they will vote for him or his party.
- Brian Mason and the NDP are struggling to be remembered.
- People have no idea who George Read is but a small number of Albertans will vote for the Green Party anyway.
- The Wildrose Alliance have yet to earn any of my allotted 30 seconds.
There you go. What else do you need to know? Did I really need to be blogging daily to give you more details? If you want more details however, I am back and will begin weighing in again. In my absence I give kudos to the following blogs for doing a great job keeping everyone informed.
From the right: Alberta Tory, Ken Chapman
Somewhere in the middle with me: The Enlightened Savage
From the left: Calgary Grit, Daveberta
Some newbies: Alberta: Get Rich or Die Trying, Four Strong Winds
General coverage: Alberta Election 2008
If you know of other blogs that are doing a great job covering the election please feel free to post them below for everyone to visit.
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