Leadership Debate #3
I haven't posted in a while, but I have come to tell you of my voyages in la belle province. I just happened to be in Quebec City on September 10, and watched the 3rd leadership debate live. I went to the Citadelle, and what a beautiful view it was!!! I also spent some time with Michael Ignatieff there, and his wife, and he gave me a history lesson on the Plains of Abraham [he even remembered me after the debate, as 'the guy from Sudbury']. Nice guy.
As we get to the home stretch, the differences among candidates is showing. Here is my eyewitness account of how it all went down:
Michael Ignatieff: I met him, and he is very personable. During the debate, he was defiant in his defence of constitutional change for the recognition of Quebec as a nation. I admire this determination; it's about time we have that in a leader.
Bob Rae: Said constitutional change would be 'difficult'. Isn't that what leadership is all about - attacking those issues that are difficult.
Martha Hall Findlay: More aggressive than usual - spoke really well, and connected with the audience especially at the end. Should have spoke French more, and with more confidence, as her French is pretty good.
Scott Brison: I was really impressed - he really talked with passion, and enthusiasm. Even though he has a thick accent, he was able to connect with the audience numerous times in French. Very impressive.
Hedy Fry: Kept repeating herself, and her French at times was incomprehensible. I think she has good ideas, but she can't express them in French.
Carolyn Bennett: Same as above. It was painful to watch her speak in French.
Gerard Kennedy: Found no distinctiveness in his ideas, and he struggled with French. This 'star candidate' is fading rapidly.
Joe Volpe: Spoke well in both languages, and had good ideas - but trying to steal the stage too many times, and the audience was definitely not happy. Why is he in the race again?
Stephane Dion: He is turning into the policy wonk, I always knew he was....he was shooting out policy like rapid-fire. At times, he was over-confident, and a tad arrogant....perhaps he could learn a little from Mr. Rae.
Ken Dryden: Couldn't understand what he was saying. Needs to work on French.
So all in all, it was good time in Quebec City. Here's my ranking of the top five:
1. Dion
2. Brison
3. Ignatieff
4. Rae
5. Hall Findlay
Can't wait until this Sunday's debate in Vancouver! Please comment -
posted by Uncle J @ 1:50 p.m.
6 Comments:
Est-ce que tu peux parler francais?
Is it weird that I like Dion's arrogance?
Maybe if he was a big burly frontrunner I wouldn't, but in a little guy who has fought from behind his whole life I find it kind of motivating.
I know, weird.
Dion's smart, there's no doubt about it but I did watch him in debates in Question Period in the House of Commons and he gets really emotional and chokes. I don't think he could out-debate Harper.
Also, I can hardly understand a thing he's saying when he's speaking English (yes the English speaking Canadians count too).
Yes, the English speaking Quebecers and Canadians count, too. I love the way all these would-be pundits criticise some of the candidates for their less than stellar French, then croon lovingly about M. Dion's 'charmingly mangled' English. Est-ce qu'ils parlent français eux-memes? Good question.
Hi J, I'm doing a feature on my blog regarding the leadership race and was wondering if you'd be interested in participating. Basically all it would entail is me emailing you a small questionaire about your choice.
I would have emailed you about it but I couldn't find an email link.
If you're interested email me robertcode at gmail dot com
oui, je parle francais habilement.
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