Election Dysfunction
Elizabeth May must feel even worse than the proverbial spindly geek always chosen last for sports teams. Poor Ms. May is not even allowed to play with all of the big kids as they ready themselves to shout...er...talk over each other...er...debate in mid April. The Green Party leader is now complaining to all who will listen, a move that, unfortunately, makes her look whiny. I miss the real federal election television debates of the 1980s. Who will ever forget the Turner/Mulroney debate of 1984, during which Mulroney eviscerated Turner with a devastating retort on patronage: "You had an option sir to say 'no' and you chose to say 'yes' to the old attitudes and the old stories of the Liberal party," Mulroney argues. "That sir, if I may say respectfully, that is not good enough for Canadians." It was Mulroney's election after that moment. I am no Tory but at least it was an intelligent and well-structured debate. The tv debates of the past n...