Tuesday, January 06, 2009
News Item you won't find in energy hub (tm) promotional materials
According to the New York Times, the Northeastern Governors are prepared to develop a regional low-carbon fuel standard. If Eider Rock is to be built for export into the North-east market and they decide they want their own low-carbon fuel, then do we need to build it?
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
The Luckiest MP in New Brunswick
Recent reports suggest that, as a result of the parliamentary intrigue surrounding Ottawa's possible coalition government, Beasejour MP and Liberal leadership candidate Dominic Leblanc will be given a post in a Dion-led ministry.
Having met Mr. Leblanc on more than one occasion, this blogger has to ask: if this chap's name was Dominic Leclerc, or if his father was not the former governor-general of Canada, would he seriously be put on a short list of 3 names likely to be named prime minister a year from now?
Having met Mr. Leblanc on more than one occasion, this blogger has to ask: if this chap's name was Dominic Leclerc, or if his father was not the former governor-general of Canada, would he seriously be put on a short list of 3 names likely to be named prime minister a year from now?
Monday, October 20, 2008
Did Shawn Graham Just Win a Second Term?
The new Tory leader, David Alward, decided his first statement upon becoming provincial leader was to request that partisans sing Happy Birthday.
He then declined to sing along. Nice.
He then declined to sing along. Nice.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Steve Murphy, hack journalist?
Andrew Krystal, perhaps the most straightforward talk-radio host in Atlantic Canada, spent this morning taking Steve Murphy and the ATV newsroom to task for their airing of Stephane Dion’s fumbling of an economic question during a taped interview.
Krystal’s criticism? That leaders fumble all the time in interviews, and many reporters (keen to have lucid answers) will give the politician the chance to call a mulligan. Harper himself had to use a mulligan when conducting an interview with Krystal over Iraq a few years back - because the interview was taped, the talk radio host gave the conservative leader a chance to do a do-over.
Murphy gave Dion this chance, but then decided that having a leader stumble over the verb tense in a single question was more news-worthy than having a lucid discussion on economic matters. This shows either poor news judgement on Murphy’s part, or an implicit conservative bias (in his memoirs, Murphy regales in telling the reader how hard he was on John Turner during the 1988 election campaign).
Let’s be clear. Dion’s fumble is in no way an indication of his ability to handle the current economic crisis. This was not at all like Sarah Palin’s incomprehension over the Bush doctrine, or suggestions that close proximity to Russia made her an expert in Foreign Policy. It was a linguistic fumble, and offered no glimpse as to the Liberal leader’s economic thinking. Perhaps Dion would have satisfied Murphy if he took a page from Harper’s playbook and simply stated, “If I were Prime Minister today, I would tell all Canadians to buy Nortel. It’s a bargain!”
Alas, Dion didn’t choose to play stockpicker. And in turn, the ATV newsroom didn’t choose to be impartial.
Krystal’s criticism? That leaders fumble all the time in interviews, and many reporters (keen to have lucid answers) will give the politician the chance to call a mulligan. Harper himself had to use a mulligan when conducting an interview with Krystal over Iraq a few years back - because the interview was taped, the talk radio host gave the conservative leader a chance to do a do-over.
Murphy gave Dion this chance, but then decided that having a leader stumble over the verb tense in a single question was more news-worthy than having a lucid discussion on economic matters. This shows either poor news judgement on Murphy’s part, or an implicit conservative bias (in his memoirs, Murphy regales in telling the reader how hard he was on John Turner during the 1988 election campaign).
Let’s be clear. Dion’s fumble is in no way an indication of his ability to handle the current economic crisis. This was not at all like Sarah Palin’s incomprehension over the Bush doctrine, or suggestions that close proximity to Russia made her an expert in Foreign Policy. It was a linguistic fumble, and offered no glimpse as to the Liberal leader’s economic thinking. Perhaps Dion would have satisfied Murphy if he took a page from Harper’s playbook and simply stated, “If I were Prime Minister today, I would tell all Canadians to buy Nortel. It’s a bargain!”
Alas, Dion didn’t choose to play stockpicker. And in turn, the ATV newsroom didn’t choose to be impartial.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
campaign bubbles, and the lessons of elections past
The Toronto Star reported today that the Harper campaign lives in a bubble.
No surprise here, really. All winning campaigns innoculate their candidate from the flotsam and jetsam of real campaigning, if only to protect their lead.
The challenge for Liberals here is to pierce the bubble. Fortunately, there are lessons from 1988 and 1993 that should guide the Dion team.
1/ Call upon the PM to leave his bubble, and listen to the challenges facing ordinary Canadians. Turner did this in advance of the debates, reminding voters (and the media) that campaigns were about more than staged photo-ops organized by Mulroney, and on rare occasions should be about vital issues (like Free Trade). This warms the electorate up to step two…
2/ Bet the farm on the debates. Turn earnestness into passion, in both English and French. Everyone remembers how Turner came back from the dead in the 1988 English debates as a result of his passionate defense of Canadian sovereignty, but few remember how he performed above expectations in French, as well (read Graham Fraser’s Playing for Keeps for a refresher on the Debates).
Dion needs to start memorizing some great gut-check lines (in both languages), to make voters warm up to the idea that this guy could easily hand out treats at 24 Sussex come Hallowee’en (in other words, seem human). He should talk about how he wrote so many pesky letters to Lucien Bouchard that the guy eventually left politics in a huff, or mention how he first came to Ottawa with little more than a sleeping bag and a napsack, at a time when few in the country were optimistic about Canada’s longterm prospects. In other words, show some emotion, but whatever he says, don’t talk about that dog Kyoto.
3/ Challenge both Layton and May in the French debates, and ask (before Harper) why Duceppe is even here. He needs to start making a play for the abundance of progressive votes out there. He should also quote from his father Leon Dion, to remind the Quebec electorate that he’s something else besides a mousy caricature from Le Devoir, and would arguably better represent his home province than Duceppe.
4/ Inject some energy - chaos, even - into the campaign. The media has been increasingly reporting about the dismal enthusiasm surrounding the leader’s tour - poor attendance at campaign events, a light campaign schedule, etc., etc.
Dion needs to shake things up, by presenting some of the energy his team showed the morning of the leadership race. Go reckless, and avoid whatever bubble might be created for you. Mainstreet, phone-bank, do anything, as long as it shows activity.
Some historical tips, on how to successfully leave the bubble?
In 1988, after his own campaign fell into temporary disarray by the re-emergence of Turner in the polls, Mulroney righted the Tory ship by facing the key issue, unscripted. In one campaign stop, he sat down with anti-Free Trade protestors, and debated the merits of their concerns point blank. He certainly did not win their vote, but the media scrum that reported on their encounter showed a Prime Minister who was supremely confident of the direction he was ready to take the country.
Press reports state that Dion is in Quebec City today. He should be taking the media to the suburban neighbourhood he grew up in, and attempt to connect with voters. A risky strategy, especially if there are few Liberal voters to be found in Quebec’s suburbs, but to change the dynamic of this race Dion needs to cut through the media lens, and reach out to all those who fear a Tory majority.
In 1993, Chretien helped create a winning campaign by literally manufacturing enthusiasm. There was precious little down time on his tour, as even the late-night hotel stops became campaign events (I remember, because I used to attend them). It did not matter that these events were only scripted enthusaism, or that they were held well after reporters had filed their stories. They created energy, and that is just one of many items the Dion campaign seems to need.
No surprise here, really. All winning campaigns innoculate their candidate from the flotsam and jetsam of real campaigning, if only to protect their lead.
The challenge for Liberals here is to pierce the bubble. Fortunately, there are lessons from 1988 and 1993 that should guide the Dion team.
1/ Call upon the PM to leave his bubble, and listen to the challenges facing ordinary Canadians. Turner did this in advance of the debates, reminding voters (and the media) that campaigns were about more than staged photo-ops organized by Mulroney, and on rare occasions should be about vital issues (like Free Trade). This warms the electorate up to step two…
2/ Bet the farm on the debates. Turn earnestness into passion, in both English and French. Everyone remembers how Turner came back from the dead in the 1988 English debates as a result of his passionate defense of Canadian sovereignty, but few remember how he performed above expectations in French, as well (read Graham Fraser’s Playing for Keeps for a refresher on the Debates).
Dion needs to start memorizing some great gut-check lines (in both languages), to make voters warm up to the idea that this guy could easily hand out treats at 24 Sussex come Hallowee’en (in other words, seem human). He should talk about how he wrote so many pesky letters to Lucien Bouchard that the guy eventually left politics in a huff, or mention how he first came to Ottawa with little more than a sleeping bag and a napsack, at a time when few in the country were optimistic about Canada’s longterm prospects. In other words, show some emotion, but whatever he says, don’t talk about that dog Kyoto.
3/ Challenge both Layton and May in the French debates, and ask (before Harper) why Duceppe is even here. He needs to start making a play for the abundance of progressive votes out there. He should also quote from his father Leon Dion, to remind the Quebec electorate that he’s something else besides a mousy caricature from Le Devoir, and would arguably better represent his home province than Duceppe.
4/ Inject some energy - chaos, even - into the campaign. The media has been increasingly reporting about the dismal enthusiasm surrounding the leader’s tour - poor attendance at campaign events, a light campaign schedule, etc., etc.
Dion needs to shake things up, by presenting some of the energy his team showed the morning of the leadership race. Go reckless, and avoid whatever bubble might be created for you. Mainstreet, phone-bank, do anything, as long as it shows activity.
Some historical tips, on how to successfully leave the bubble?
In 1988, after his own campaign fell into temporary disarray by the re-emergence of Turner in the polls, Mulroney righted the Tory ship by facing the key issue, unscripted. In one campaign stop, he sat down with anti-Free Trade protestors, and debated the merits of their concerns point blank. He certainly did not win their vote, but the media scrum that reported on their encounter showed a Prime Minister who was supremely confident of the direction he was ready to take the country.
Press reports state that Dion is in Quebec City today. He should be taking the media to the suburban neighbourhood he grew up in, and attempt to connect with voters. A risky strategy, especially if there are few Liberal voters to be found in Quebec’s suburbs, but to change the dynamic of this race Dion needs to cut through the media lens, and reach out to all those who fear a Tory majority.
In 1993, Chretien helped create a winning campaign by literally manufacturing enthusiasm. There was precious little down time on his tour, as even the late-night hotel stops became campaign events (I remember, because I used to attend them). It did not matter that these events were only scripted enthusaism, or that they were held well after reporters had filed their stories. They created energy, and that is just one of many items the Dion campaign seems to need.
Friday, September 12, 2008
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