Three Weeks On

The Story of the Third Week: The Winner of the Debate

I’ve been watching debates since the Trudeau years. (Remember that time Joe Clark wore mismatched spats? What a scandal that was!) I always enjoy them. What’s not to like. Our democratically elected leaders desperately trying to frame themselves in the best light, occasional policy discussions, quips and one liners. I love that stuff.

This year’s had a lot going for it: a terrible set with hues that matched the tone of Jack Layton’s skin, occasionally rendering him invisible; Stephen Harper delivering the most leveled one-note performance since the last Matrix movie; Ignatieff connecting to regular joes by reminiscing about his days hanging out in prisons as a graduate student; Gilles Duceppe trying and failing to get laughs; the Scottish tones of the French debate. What more could you ask for? Priceless television.

And then it gets even better. For the next week or so the media becomes obsessed about finding a winner. Substantive discussions or critiques about content collapse into the rush to proclaim a winner. The fault lies with, like a lot of things, Brian Mulroney. In 1984 he had the audacity to actually win a debate, slapping John Turner silly while Ed Broadbent looked on in horror. This is but a vestigal memory for most political journalists but it still affects their behaviour, forcing them to ask who won, and saddening them as the search always turns out to be fruitless. No-one wins these things.

Now when’s the next one?   - BC