[Gunnair]

CanadianJeff CanadianJeff:

I love how all the conservatives jump all over this guy because they think they will nail him in the polls and the Liberals love him because they think he will bring them some mystical recovery from a horrid election.

I would like to point out it's highly unlikely either will happen IMO both because the conservatives are correct (Justin would be very very easy to smear) and frankly the NDP didn't get to be the opposition without changing the way they do things.

I expect unless the Liberals decide to merge with the NDP you will see a close repeat to the last election in a few years. Frankly maybe just maybe the NDP have changed enough to warrant a second look. I certainly know last election Jack Layton had me looking and Mulcair has done a good job making his party look more towards reason then left wing propaganda.

Not all conservatives, Jeff. You're pigeon holing here.

[OnTheIce]

andyt andyt:

Yes, he earned $44k a year. Many middle class kids do this well or much better, many get a job as a teacher right out of school. He left teaching to return to McGill to study engineering. He married after he left McGill.

Many teachers don't come out of school and land full-time teaching jobs. It's a privileged to just drop your full-time job to return to school. Find me other middle-class people that just drop their full time job to go back to school full-time. You'll have a hard time.

andyt andyt:

What was it?

Let's not play the obtuse game, shall we?

[OnTheIce]

Gunnair Gunnair:

What's makes middle class entitled to rule?

Who cares what 'class' he belongs to...he ought to be judged on what he'll bring to the table, and frankly, until he is tested, everything is speculation.

This isn't about what it takes to rule, it's whether or not Justin has the credibility or the knowledge to be pandering to a class of people he claims to know and understand.

[raydan]

OnTheIce OnTheIce:

This isn't about what it takes to rule, it's whether or not Justin has the credibility or the knowledge to be pandering to a class of people he claims to know and understand.

But if he was Conservative, he'd be the best thing since Harper.

[OnTheIce]

raydan raydan:

OnTheIce OnTheIce:

This isn't about what it takes to rule, it's whether or not Justin has the credibility or the knowledge to be pandering to a class of people he claims to know and understand.

But if he was Conservative, he'd be the best thing since Harper.

Considering I've already said he'll beat Harper in the next election....

[raydan]

I hope not.

[andyt]

OnTheIce OnTheIce:

andyt andyt:

What was it?

Let's not play the obtuse game, shall we?

OK. Let's clearly state what Harper's real job(s) were instead? You seem to know, so share.

[CanadianJeff]

Gunnair Gunnair:

CanadianJeff CanadianJeff:

I love how all the conservatives jump all over this guy because they think they will nail him in the polls and the Liberals love him because they think he will bring them some mystical recovery from a horrid election.

I would like to point out it's highly unlikely either will happen IMO both because the conservatives are correct (Justin would be very very easy to smear) and frankly the NDP didn't get to be the opposition without changing the way they do things.

I expect unless the Liberals decide to merge with the NDP you will see a close repeat to the last election in a few years. Frankly maybe just maybe the NDP have changed enough to warrant a second look. I certainly know last election Jack Layton had me looking and Mulcair has done a good job making his party look more towards reason then left wing propaganda.

Not all conservatives, Jeff. You're pigeon holing here.

That's fair. Not all conservatives and not all Liberals are happy about Trudeau but I think enough express it that my point isn't without merit.

[N_Fiddledog]

CanadianJeff CanadianJeff:

That's fair. Not all conservatives and not all Liberals are happy about Trudeau but I think enough express it that my point isn't without merit.

Now this Conservative is conflicted. On the one hand I like the idea of Trudeau leading the Libs, because I think once you start to shine the light on who he actually is he should be easy to take down.

On the other other hand, I worry, because I wonder...taken down by whom?

Enough of the media swing far enough left that they'll only give Trudeau so much cover once the real campaign for Prime Minister begins. I would expect Trudeau to get it hard from both sides - right and left. At this point I worry the Trudeau votes go left to the NDP. Plus I don't see a strong Conservative replacement for Harper. I worry with two lame duck leaders the NDP looks to be where the smart money will bet on who the next Prime Minister is.

[OnTheIce]

N_Fiddledog N_Fiddledog:

Enough of the media swing far enough left that they'll only give Trudeau so much cover once the real campaign for Prime Minister begins.

The CPC will be ahead of the game with television and print ads to attempt to define JT even before the campaign gets underway.

"Do you think it's easy to make priorities?".

[raydan]

So another smear campaign, instead of showing us all the good they've done while in power and all the good they will be doing. Why not, worked with Iggy.

[Caelon]

N_Fiddledog N_Fiddledog:

Now this Conservative is conflicted. On the one hand I like the idea of Trudeau leading the Libs, because I think once you start to shine the light on who he actually is he should be easy to take down.

On the other other hand, I worry, because I wonder...taken down by whom?

Enough of the media swing far enough left that they'll only give Trudeau so much cover once the real campaign for Prime Minister begins. I would expect Trudeau to get it hard from both sides - right and left. At this point I worry the Trudeau votes go left to the NDP. Plus I don't see a strong Conservative replacement for Harper. I worry with two lame duck leaders the NDP looks to be where the smart money will bet on who the next Prime Minister is.

Good summation. We have a lack of leaders the nation wants to follow.

Harper seems to attract his fair share of opponents. He has his foibles like anyone else.
Mulclair does not have Layton's appeal plus he has his own series of foot in mouth comments.
Trudeau rightly or wrongly is labelled as presence without substance.

The Liberals have a chance to avoid the criticixm of the past of annointing a leader based on the polls or a perceived solution without letting the process determine the best candidate. If they wish to become the party in power after the next eelction they need someone that articulates a position that most Canadians can support. I have not seen Trudeau do this. His handlers have focused on him not making any bloopers that lose the leadership race so there has not been enough time to show what he stands for. The sad thing is the strategy looks to be succesful, which will mean the Liberals will have gone through a leadership selection process without defining a direction.

I would like to see some clear alternatives in the next election, not just a 'we are not them' position. Mulcair has done a better job of defining a position for the NDP. I may not like it, but he has defined his Quebec and ROC versions. The Liberals just complain without showing an alterantive. Even the complaints are not focused on defining a stance it is just 'the government is bad'. Too bad. Without some focus they will stay in third place.

[N_Fiddledog]

raydan raydan:

So another smear campaign, instead of showing us all the good they've done while in power and all the good they will be doing. Why not, worked with Iggy.

Yeah, but why just blame the Conservatives. Watch the NDP, CBC, and Global go after the Boy wizard. I bet they're worse than Ezra once the real campaign for actual Prime Minister begins.

And it's not like nobody has ever said anything nasty about Harper.

[Zipperfish]

raydan raydan:

So another smear campaign, instead of showing us all the good they've done while in power and all the good they will be doing. Why not, worked with Iggy.

Didn't work with Obama vs McCain. If you run a postive campaign based on hope instead of fear you can turn the neagtvuie campaigners on themselves--the more negatvie they get, the more people get turned off.

Easier said than done though.

[raydan]

N_Fiddledog N_Fiddledog:

raydan raydan:

So another smear campaign, instead of showing us all the good they've done while in power and all the good they will be doing. Why not, worked with Iggy.

Yeah, but why just blame the Conservatives. Watch the NDP, CBC, and Global go after the Boy wizard. I bet they're worse than Ezra once the real campaign for actual Prime Minister begins.

And it's not like nobody has ever said anything nasty about Harper.

So it's another, "they do/did it too, so it's OK if I do it".

Guess it's a lot easier to find something bad to say about the other guy than something good about ourselves.