(From now through the end of the campaign next week, I’ll be with the Liberal tour. Regular reports should appear here irregularly.)
As the bus passed the strip malls of suburban Laval, word reached Media Bus #2 of some excitement at one of the national networks. Apparently there was a video clip, recorded in Halifax from whence we had just arrived, of Mr. Dion. Apparently it made Mr. Dion appear rather silly. Apparently the network would be airing the clip at the top of its primetime politics show.
The bus arrived at tonight’s venue. Inside a banquet hall a few hundred partisans had gathered for another of these made-for-TV rallies. They seemed notably enthusiastic. When some of the tour techs arrived on stage and erected the Liberal-branded backdrop, they were greeted with a prolonged ovation.
A detailed description of the clip is soon being passed among reporters in the room. The initial reaction is that the Liberal campaign is ruined.
Mr. Dion appears at approximately the same time the clip is being shown to a national audience. He arrives hand-in-hand with his wife, waving and smiling, accepting hugs and handshakes. It takes him two minutes to reach the stage. The crowd is chanting his name and clapping in unison. Three dozen Liberal candidates await him on stage.
Dion, speaking mostly in French, is talking loud and fast. He is not quite in flight, but he seems eager for this. And the crowd is jumpy, pleased with any opportunity to cheer his presence. Dion talks over a heckler and when the shouty gentleman persists, the crowd simply decides to drown him out, forcing him to retreat. The Liberal campaign is tight for time—eager to get back to the plane for a strictly scheduled departure—but Dion seems almost to linger on stage.
And while all of this is happening—as Dion appears only to be raging against the proverbial dying of the proverbial light—messages from the beyond are coming in. People with access to television have seen the clip. And the consensus has turned entirely. Now it is not so much the pivotal, pathetic pratfall of a clumsy candidate who was doomed from the moment he appeared. Now it is a low point in the history of journalism. Cross words and unflattering adjectives are being swapped.
Back on the bus, someone pulls up the clip on a laptop. Those who see tell those who haven’t what they saw. Interpretations vary. There is some debate over who said and heard what and how. More messages from afar. The Prime Minister has reacted. Indeed, the Conservative tour delayed its departure from wherever it was so that he might.
On the bus and then on the plane, the discussion continues—who said what and why and what, whatever the answer to those questions, this means for the fortunes of the two men who seek to lead the country.
All of which may come down to one question: what does this matter?
What does this matter on a day when the war in Afghanistan was reported to be nearly lost? What does this matter on a day when an officer of Parliament reported that the government of Canada had under-reported and seemingly even sought to obscure the cost of that war? What does it matter when the stock market dropped another several hundred points this afternoon? What does it matter when the finance minister confirmed the fears of those who worry about their jobs and their homes? What does it matter when new questions are being asked about the government’s handling of a listeria outbreak that killed 20 people?
What does it matter, ultimately, at a time such as this, in a circumstance such as this, at a moment when the public is faced with a choice such as this?
And, if the answer to any of the above is that it doesn’t matter, what are we then to make of those who tell us it does?
The flight back to Toronto tonight is boozy and loud. Fifteen hours after the day began, everyone—crowded in small groups, leaning over seats, standing in the aisle—seems engaged in some animated discussion or another. Whatever this matters, however this matters, tonight it seems improbably important.
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Comment
As I recall, in the last election’s French dedate, Stephen harper missed answering a question completely because he couldn’t follow along. I don’t think the liberals even mentioned it.
You’ve trolled Liberal blogs for two years now and one would think a sane person would have found something better to do by now.
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So Maclean’s is a Liberal blog?
And gee, Scott, what’s your traffic like?
As I recall they made terrible fun of Stockwell Day’s French, (and his religion) and we’re gearing up to crucify another Westerner before they found that Harper could actually speak French quite well (but he’s still a scary Christian). But that’s just how I recall it.
So, when are the media, like Paul Wells, going to ask Harper, Dion and the rest of the candidates, what they is going to do in Copenhagen in 2009? This is getting ridiculous. How do you choose which problems you are going to ignore (the hard, long term ones, like global warming– which are going to horribly constrain the life and ambitions of all of humanity) and which ones you are going to cover (this financial crisis of the moment)?
The entire journalistic class is an utter disgrace this election for refusing to cover Canada’s climate change position, despite the fact that the next government will negotiate the only climate treaty the world has left to avoid a truly horrible situation.
At the last climate change conference, our well educated Prime Minister decided to utterly ignore all of Canada’s expert scientists. And I mean that he did not even ask for advice only to later ignore it. By the way, this is par for the course for Mr. Harper government, in all areas of Canada’s science policy — something the media is also incapable of informing the public of.
Why don’t you try to redeem yourselves the next few days Paul Wells. And pass this message along to your friends.
http://www.cop15.dk/en
Do you remember the Brain drain that occurred in after Mulroney, the beginning Chretien years, and when Harris came to power in Ontario? Do you know how hard it is has been to build up Canada’s reputation and expertise in Science in the intervening years of good government, that actually cared about forming policy based on the best possible advice? Do you know how fragile the situation is now?
DaveND
I agree that the spirit of the election is pretty dismal but I think your claim to the moral high ground is overstated…
Layton has had bouts of name calling and pls explain to me how the ’sweater jokes’ are substantive. Heck even your post contains the same kinda rhetoric e.g., “Do-nothing Dion said they wouldn’t stand up for hard pressed Canadian families… frankly BS. You might not like the things he is proposing but a dramatic remaking of the tax systems is not ‘nothing’.
but you are right that we def need some veterans of parliament back… seeing B.Blakie go right now is doubly depressing.
Who would have thought Dion could be our very own Chancie? This whole Saga could be called “Sea Change” or “Dion Revealed”.
john manley too
crf at 1:32 AM
“The entire journalistic class is an utter disgrace this election for refusing to cover Canada’s climate change position,…”
Actually, the global warming “crisis” (it stopped nine years ago) was a media creation. Now they are bored and tired of it and have more interesting rabbits to hunt. Even CBCSuzuki has been able to do three consecutive newscasts (I’ve been keeping track) without bringing up the AGW shibboleth in some weird context.
If you think that the pusuit of Weaver’s and Hansen’s computerized moonbeams is actually more important than the prospect of a worldwide economic depression that would destroy the lives of hundreds of millions, you’re not merely out of touch with reality, you are a heartless ideologue.
The interviewer shoulda drew a picture for Dion. He might have been able to figure that out. Dosent matter anyways. When Dion did answer the question nobody could make sense of that either.
[...] interviewed, and see how that looks and how they did on national TV. As for Duffy, the fact that several of his media colleagues at Macleans called him out on it speaks for [...]
Re: Comment by seaandthemountains on Friday, October 10, 2008 at 2:32 am:
I have no issue with a legitimate political zinger and I would say that is what the sweater jokes are.
Do Nothing Dion – is not just rhetoric it is fact 43 times it is factually accurate…
It matters! It matters a lot! If this was a Tory blowing the interview we all know the feeding frenzy from the parasites in the media….and of course the Liberals would be all over it!!! ALL OVER IT! Don’t pretend it would be otherwise.
I want to be proud of my Prime Minister. I want somebody who understands the question the first time. Someone who won’t embarass the entire country on the world stage. Not an intellectual lighweight. Maybe the interviewer should have spoken S-L-O-W-E-R!
These times call for leadership and intelligence, not a buffoon!
*
“Would you shut, you troll? You’ve trolled Liberal blogs for two years now and one would think a sane person would have found something better to do by now.”
comment by Ti-Guy on Friday, October 10, 2008 at 12:34 am
unlike your lily-white self, huh ti-guy?
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and the next article that macleans does, was noting but propaganda, shill for the libs…
Cut off the comments eh?
Sninkers.
No wonder I refuse to renew my subscription.
Any one who doesn’t want a majority for Canada instead of another few years of minority, and yet another early election…blah blah blah well then vote for the one who didn’t even bother to learn English, at least Harper’s French is 10 times better than Dion’s English.
Lets let the other side have a chance, besides we need this country to be strong, hasn’t been and the kids are lost…
And how come the ’sky is falling crowed tends to vote liberal?
Seriously, g-l-o-b-a-l w-a-r-m-i-n-g…gees!
Yes we are pollution good ole Terra Ferma but CHANGE the weather? Really?
Humans think themselves quite important eh?
Tell me this… should we suddenly discover that the ice age is coming in 5 years, could we stop it with excess gas emissions?
…yeah.
On the CBC interview, Dion was asked by a Calgary pilot how the Greenshift would effect his business, Dion’s responsed by promoting airplanes built in his riding, when asked again, he had no response. The media talks about Harper not relating to the common man, has Dion ever worked a minute beside a common man.
I have a hard time believing the media would be as generous if Harper’s command of the French language was as abysmal as Dion’s grasp of English.
Nevertheless, this interview is important not because of supposed language problems but because it demonstrably shows that Dion has nothing except invective as it relates to the economy.
Seriously where are Dion’s handlers? Did they not prepare him to answer this very direct question about what he’d do if he was Prime Minister? Heck, John Doe on the street can give you a canned answer on things near and dear to him.
Breaking News, August 2009 – The G7 meeting in London today ground to a hault. Frustrated heads of state emerged to complain that after rephrasing comments and questions over 1000 times so that the Canadian PM, Dion, could understand them, time ran out and no progress was made.
If Aaron wants to be a liberal shill, join the campaign. You are not a journalist.
I guess I’m wondering why you’d chose to be the lickspittle of a failure like Dion?
As far as the fairness of the media in airing this: you lot have hidden enough liberal gaffes. If this was Harper, it would lead every 14 milliseconds.
In fact, Palin=Dion. Media’s coverage is what is not equal (and I refer to the CDN media’s coverage.)
Low point in journalist? Try rare breaze. It won’t waft away the stink but it’s a start.
Would you shut, you troll? You’ve trolled Liberal blogs for two years now and one would think a sane person would have found something better to do by now.
comment by Ti-Guy on Friday, October 10, 2008 at 12:34 am
I wouldn’t normally get drawn into troll wars, but aren’t you are the king of Canadian political internet trolls? I remember seeing you comment on bigcitylib’s site that Libloggers should join you in launching a troll attack on the Maclean’s blogs. You should really take your own advice and get a new hobby.
This sorry episode is now 24 hours old. I have yet to hear any Liberal official/candidate actually provide an answer to the question.
From wikipedia:
Dion has said that his involvement as “an activist for the separatist cause” ended during a five-hour, rum-and-Coke fuelled discussion with a federalist household while he was going door-to-door for the PQ, but he did not openly commit to federalism until much later. At the time of the 1980 referendum, his sentiments were neutral. In his own words, the ‘no’ victory left him “neither moved nor outraged. To tell the truth, I felt no particular feeling.” (Moi, je ne me sentais ni ému ni révolté. À vrai dire, je n’éprouvais aucun sentiment particulier.)
Yes, that’s a real Canadian speaking. No wonder he won’t give up his French citizenship. If Stephen Harper had dual US-Canadian citizenship, the media would crucify him. Double standard, indeed.