Kennedy Loses Debate

When Gerard Kennedy speaks, does he say anything? "New Liberalism" is a cool slogan, but what does it mean?

I didn't like the questions. The Laval bridge collapse had nothing to do with the federal government, so all three candidates sounded like twits trying to answer the question. A bridge collapses in Laval, so Kennedy says we should spend more at the Windsor border. Ignatieff says we should widen the Trans-Canada and spend more on public transportation. I liked Kennedy's "we should give cities the 2 cent gas tax and not try to take credit for it". However, the obvious question is why cities ( i.e. Ontario cities) don't have a municipal gas tax, like in Montreal and Vancouver, and just leave the federal government out of the loop entirely? Maybe the federal gas tax should go to Via Rail ! That is something that benefits cities but is clearly a federal jurisdiction. And the federal government can take credit for it.

Dion has a tendency to mumble when he gets worked up. That is unfortunate, because getting worked up is expected in French. Igantieff is clearly the best speaker, but the "we have a dream" bit was a tad convoluted by my tastes.

Bob Rae had us all checking our wallets. Not necessarily a bad thing, social programs cost money, but rising taxes are not popular with the electorate.

To be honest, I think Steven Harper and Gilles Ducepe were the biggest winners. Oh well.