I live for elections. I love the live coverage. It keeps me glued to the tv for hours. When I was nine, I remember watching the Quebec Referendum with my dad from Saskatoon in 1980. That same year I conducted a mock election in my class with ballots my mom helped me make. True story. These celebrations of citizenship only happen every so often but when they do, I try to enjoy every minute of them. I love watching an underdog take the ultimate prize of winning a hard fought election like President George Bush did in 2004. It was amazing to watch Prime Minister Harper defeat the "unsinkable" Titanic-like Liberals in 2006. That night Harper pulled off one of the most under-rated upsets in electoral history. And I was there taking it all in. Elections are the original (and best) reality show on TV.
Well, tonight I was on hand to watch Ed Stelmach pull a Reagan '84 (click the link). Stelmach shocked everyone (except pollster Strategic Counsel) by taking 72 of Alberta's 83 seats. A complete landslide victory. I admit I believed the media who said he would lose 20 or more seats and we would see the rise of the Liberals or an awakening the new Wildrose Alliance.
I watched the debate earlier this month and thought that Ed did quite well. It was great debate moment when the premier congratulated NDP Leader Brian Mason on his "ability to predict the past." He won the debate right there. It was obvious tonight that the Alberta electorate also saw the debate the same way. They rejected the Taft/Mason contention that Alberta is broken and needs to be fixed.
The big loser in this election (other than Kevin Taft)? The media. The media constantly reported the complaints of a few who are not enjoying Alberta's economic success. They painted Alberta as a place of greed and despair rather than the land of opportunity. The voters gave the media a much deserved punch tonight. I love elections!
6 comments:
Yes, the media loves to overdramatize things. I thought for sure that Bush was a bad man....until he was RE-ELECTED IN 2004! Seriously, it's actually sad that the media has the power to brainwash. Luckily, here in Alberta it didn't work. Let's see if the citizens of the USA have the same forsight that Albertans had and be smart enought to know that either Hillary or Obama will be a huge mistake. McCain is truly the only one with sound experience and leadership. We will see in the next few months.
You're right Russ. It is funny to hear the "Stel-shocked" pundits on the radio this morning reacting to the historic results. The funniest suggestion I heard was that the Liberal's need to change their name. Oh sure - THAT was the problem. A bad brand. Albertans know the difference between the federal Liberals and provincial Liberals. They also know the difference between a good platform and bad platform. I really question whether Kevin Taft even lives in the province of Alberta with the things he was saying. Did he phone in his campaign from Vancouver? The media was completely asleep in this campaign. Let's hope they learn something but I seriously doubt it. As for the US, Obama is campaigning like it's 1999 sometimes even 1969. McCain is a strong candidate who should be able to reveal Obama's empty policies and keep the White House in Republican hands.
McCain actually seems like an older version of Harper. Very calm and cool, but willing to face punch if necessary. I really enjoyed his threat to sue the Libs over the latest non-controversy. Poor Dion. It is not easy to set priorities.
With regard to the provincial Libs, I am so tired of the media reporting on the thoughts of Taft and Mason. Clearly, nobody gives a hoot about them, so stop reporting on these guys. They are irrelevant. We are living in the best province in the country. Wouldn't it be nice if we could stop complaining for 5 minutes?
Here is an article in the Toronto Star talking about Stelmach's mysterious win.
http://www.thestar.com/News/
Canada/article/309492
It is quite hilarious to read in parts. The quote "We're seeing a different Ed." made me laugh. We are not seeing a different Ed. The media is now choosing to reveal the real Ed. The Ed that was already there. It also talks about the "possibility" that maybe voters saw 3% unemployment, high paying jobs and low taxes as maybe the reason for the romp. YA THINK?
Yeah, you're right, it is not easy to be Stephane Dion. His strategy of waiting the next scandal to bring the Tories down does not seem to be working. Hey Stephane, how about putting together a policy that people could vote for? Except the one about raising the GST, that one won't even fly in Ontario...
Hilary is not all dead yet. The delegate math still works heavily in Obama's favour. Hillary sounded the exact wrong note this morning by "compromising" with Obama by saying he could run on her ticket as her VP. Obama is saying uh, thanks, but no thanks Hil. For once, it looks like we may actually have an exciting Democratic convention this year..
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