Corporate Kady the Pollstergeist.

The thing that jumps out at me with the Nanos polls is the very significant spiking before and after each election. To me that suggest there is something wrong with their methodology.

How about sharing with us how "Unions used to have a place, but have overstepped their bounds now." or maybe "I support equality for women, but these feminists want too much."

Oh, by the way Bob …. do you worry about Jack Layton's Canadian birth certificate – is it real?

Maybe there is a mind control chamber all the media are summoned to, at regular intervals. Who would do the mind-penetrating voice-over – gotta be James Earl Jones, right? And we need someone much more sinister than Iggy, or even Conny, to play the villian mastermind.

Maybe there is a mind control chamber all the media are summoned to, at regular intervals. Who would do the mind-penetrating voice-over – gotta be James Earl Jones, right? And we need someone much more sinister than Iggy, or even Conny, to play the villian.

Nah. Couldn't happen. Not with our media subject to the tender mercies of Conny,
Izzy, and the CEO worshipers at the Globe…… silly me.

As to Coyne's positions, sure, our pundits tend to agree with them, but so do 95% of Canadians. My problem is that a considerable number of Canadians would be happy having a debate about the details and minutiae of our government programs and institutions, but, as you say, the political momentum is all on the side of moral inertia.

As to Coyne's positions, sure, our pundits tend to agree with them, but so do 95% of Canadians. My problem is that a considerable number of Canadians would be happy having a debate about the details and minutiae of our government programs and institutions, but, as you say, the momentum is all on the side of moral inertia.

The more dependable pollsters have ways of compensating. Unfortunately, the pollster that has best responded, Rasmussen, doesn't operate in Canada.

Can't stand Simpson but Wells and Coyne are my two favourite Canadian opinion writers. Do you think any of the three writers you mention would disagree with Coyne's statement? All three agree that government is good and all they do is argue details.

Big debates don't really happen here because there is widespread agreement that government is good and all that needs to be discussed is the minutiae. A perfect example is the EI 'debate' that we are having now and will likely last into the autumn. All the major parties support EI as program, they are just squabbling over details.

I agree that ordinary voters are resistant to change and prefer status-quo, but that's a human trait not specific to Canadians, but pols are cowards because it is their job to improve things.

The Tories tried to overthrow the Magna Carta? Those bastards!

That is extremely unfair. Take someone like Jeff Simpson in the Globe: for years he's produced substantive policy proposals and discussions, on a whole range of untouchable issues from the deficit (as it then was) to productivity to health care to internal trade; take Paul Wells, who does the same thing on other issues (Afghanistan, NATO, inter alia); take Andrew Coyne, who is not exactly an intellectual conformist; etc. etc. And what journalists do in public, i.e. think freely on unpopular subjects, others do in private. If these people don't represent "the chattering classes" (minus the pejorative sense) I have no idea who "the chattering classes" are. On the contrary, jwl, it's the politicians and the ordinary voters who are resistant to change of any kind, or even to talking about change, because by now practically everybody in this country has a vested interest in the status quo, or feel they do.

Also, just by way of a jibe for a jibe, a lot of people were engaged when the Tories tried to usurp power and overthrow the 800-year-old constitution.

"Hey , look at the bunch of Fokkers, they need to be taken down!"

Thanks for the trip down memory lane Robert, I thought that vocabulary died out in 1989. No fuzzy third way thinking necessary, Karl would be proud.

Everybody saves face (more or less), armed with talking points to take to a skeptical media. Even Harper plays along, wanting to maintain his narrative that "Canadians don't want an election, Parliament should focus on the economy, blah blah." Maybe with a subtle reminder that It wasn't HIM that took Canadins to the edge of the election cliff, it was those power-hungry Coalition amigos

Even tho Canadians were hoping that these minority governments would produce good debate, all we have seen is non-stop election fever since Paul Martin stepped down.

First mandate PMSH made everything a confidence vote. Second mandate, the Libs did the same with the 'report card' thing.
Parliament needs to change a few rules, and put an end to selective 'confidence' matters.
Then maybe the debates will happen, maybe.

Maybe. I use to think this way but my opinion changed when the socialists and separatists tried to usurp power and how engaged people were then. A liberal consensus has emerged for our chattering classes and there is nothing really to debate, at least according to them.

It is as if the emergence of and initial media honeymoon with Ignatieff put some NDP supporters into the undecided camp; but the end of session performance and Iggy's relatively low profile this summer, compared with Layton's pretty active travel schedule and now a bit of coverage on the name change story and US healthcare debates, may have been the tonic those folks needed to firm up their intentions again.

In Ontario the decided support seems to be coming more from Conservatives than Liberals (although a bit from both), which suggests to me that some of the Conservative southwestern Ontario seats are more in play for the NDP again. In Quebec, the gain is at the expense of the Bloc, which could simply reflect the fact that the Bloc took the month of July off.

Anyways, the Iggy honeymoon's been over for awhile, and now we'll have a much better sense of how competitive the parties really are against one another. And just in time for the by-elections, too!

Please?

There's still the matter of cleaning up the deficit mess from that massive stimulus bender we went on. But I predict Harper will beat the crap out of Iggy by framing the Libs as the taxation party. It'll work, because Canadians don't like to hear the truth about those sorts of things. (And then Harper will turn around and raise taxes after he wins another minority or majority!).

This is the prime opportunity for the NDP to get some genuine, whoa-maybe-we-should-keep-an-eye-on-this media attention. If they have a good follow-up strategy, they'll become playas again.

I find this interesting. Generally speaking, the government of the day sees its numbers go up while parliament is in recess. It appears that Canadians are having a 'pox on both your houses' moment.

Also found the increase of concern for health care interesting. I would attribute it to the health care debate going in America rather than anything happening here. And the greenies can't be too happy about where concern for environment is at the moment.