Canadian Election: Leadership debate in English

For those fortunate enough to miss the leaders debate in English, but who fail to realize their good fortune, here it is in full.

Harper was consistently on message, consistently uncharismatic, and consistently unable to conceal his disdain for the other candidates.

Ignatieff was consistently suave, consistently insincere, consistently lacking in real impact.

Layton was consistently sharp, consistently pleasant mannered, consistently light weight.

Duceppe was consistently logical, consistently gloomy, consistent in defense of Quebec sovereignty.

Combine Harper's control with Leyton's charm, Ignatieff's punch and Duceppe's sincerity, you'd have a convincing leader.

Harper is correct about the corporation tax. The lower the tax the more investment there will be, the more investment there is the more jobs there will be, the more jobs there are the more income there will be for ordinary Canadians. If the Libs and New Dems want to tax the owners of corporations they should demand increases in the upper rates of income tax. But of course that is out of the question since it would be highly unpopular with the high-earning Liberal-voting  lawyers and top bureaucrats, as with the better paid, lib-left voting public servants: professors, school teachers, police officers, etc.

Ignatieff may have a point about there being no need for more prisons, but what's his alternative? None that he mentioned, which is a pity, because there is much that could be done with electronic monitoring of non-violent criminals and perhaps a good deal that could be done with violent criminals too if they entered into a program of psychiatric counseling, combined with the use of mineral, vitamin and essential oil supplements that have been shown to reduce violent behavior.

Layton's idea that spending on social programs is an an alternative to the purchase of military equipment is as daft as Ignatieff's claim that the purchase of jets should have been put out to competitive tender. Canada has agreed to buy F35's at a ridiculous price not because we need them or because they represent good value for money, but because, as a tributary of Rome, we are under an obligation to share in the cost of imperial defense. To pretend otherwise is just part of the make-believe political game that the Liberals and New Democrats continually play. No wonder Harper wore and expression of near contempt throughout the debate.

Ignatieff and Layton talked much about democracy without once touching on the fact that what we have in Canada is a travesty of real democracy. As discussed yesterday, we have a system under which MP's are mere pawns, selected by, and under the strict control of, the party leadership. They do not represent the regions to the government, they represent the government to the regions: the whole program of government being driven by the corporations, foreign governments and well-organized interest groups that fund election campaigns and control the media.In short, the real power is largely hidden, unelected and unaccountable.