Debates Coming

The debates will not be, in themselves, a critical moment but they will be part of a critical overall process.

If we are to succeed we need to show Canada that we are not the isolated eggheads as portrayed by the Conservatives.

As Michael Ignateiff pointed out yesterday, and on Sunday, the Liberal Part is not a party of the left or the right but rather a party of the centre (individuals are right or left -- so I am a right leaning Liberal -- but I am talking of the Party as a whole). And this must come across -- in tough economic times it is a party of people like Paul Martin who should be in power.

What needs to be shown is that we are still that party (and in that regard note former P.M. Martin was out campaigning this weekend).


Party leaders eye crucial campaign debates as economic woes mount

OTTAWA - The five national party leaders are hunkering down in Ottawa, getting ready for the televised debates that could play a pivotal role in their fortunes on voting day.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, NDP Leader Jack Layton and Green Leader Elizabeth May have all cleared their schedules for Tuesday, planning to devote their time exclusively to debate preparation.

Liberal Leader Stephane Dion and Gilles Duceppe of the Bloc Quebecois will hold brief events across the river in Gatineau, Que., before buckling down to their own pre-debate studies.

The man with the most at stake may be Dion, whose campaign sputtered over the first three weeks. His fortunes have improved in recent days, with polls showing the Liberal vote edging up, but the Grits still have a long way to go to catch Harper's Conservatives.

Full story here:
http://news.sympatico.msn.ca/abc/Election_08/ContentPosting.aspx?isfa=1&feedname=CP_EN_ELECTION&showbyline=True&newsitemid=71189035