According to a survey in the Montreal Gazette, 28 percent of Canadians plan to watch the Canadian debate tonight; four percent will watch the U.S. debate; 32 percent will flip between both; and 35 percent will watch neither.
The Gazette also editorializes that “the Canadian English debate will be broadcast in competition to the Sarah Palin-Joe Biden debate from the U.S., which may tempt a number of Canadian political junkies away from the duelling statistics on the fiscal imbalance and transfer payments.”
It will certainly tempt me. I plan to watch the vice-presidential debate from beginning to end. (My blogger friend, Jim, will tape the Canadian debate and I will check it out on Friday.)
There is more at stake in the American debate, perhaps who will be the next president.
And there is the drama of Sarah Palin debating on a national stage for the first time.
It seems to me there are three possible outcomes tonight.
First, Palin gives an unsteady performance showing no real command of the issues. This will confirm the growing perception that McCain himself exercised bad judgement in choosing her.
Palin gives an outstanding performance. This will give McCain the chance to continue using her to get his faultering campaign back on the rails.
The third possibility is that Palin will do fine but not fine enough to be a game-changer. That will leave McCain stalled, unable to turn the tide that is now running for Obama.
I’ll be frank with you. I can hardly wait for this debate to start.
Which debat will you watch, if any?
Neil, I’ll watch the Canadian debate. having watched the french language debate last night I want to see if the chiefs will have the same orientations for the ROC. Should be interesting because they often had different, if not diverging points of view wether speaking to Québec or to the ROC.
I’m going to watch the Palin comedy hour! (well, one and a half hours really).
I can’t wait – I’m going to really enjoy this!
The Canadian debates don’t inspire me to watch. I literally hate ALL the parties and leaders – I would have nobody to root for! They won’t say anything to inspire me – that’s for sure.
Having said all that I likely would have watched the canadian debates if Palin hadn’t been such a joke in recent weeks… so blame palin!
I won’t watch any of the debates (and I suspect that the Canadian debates will be available here in Arizona via C-SPAN).
Why? Because I am more irked by the audience’s responses, catcalls, cheers, and booes than by anything the candidates themselves say. That’s why I can never watch Bill Maher’s show.
Neil, the Dodgers and Cubs are playing which only adds to the problem.
I’ll be flicking back and forth and back.
But will mostly be watching to see if Billingsley can outpitch Zambrano. Go Dodgers.
There are times when I almost wish I had television so I could watch a particular program. This time ’round, it would be the Biden vs Palin match.
Under no circumstances would I ever watch the Canadian debates. None of them has anything to say that I want to hear.
I will watch the vp debates tonight. She might do well enough to solidify her base, but I doubt if she will be able to lure many to the dark side who might have been wavering. I hope Biden minds his p’s and q’s.
And Tony, I hate to rain on your parade, but, if the presidential debates are any example, the vp debates will not allow the audience to make a response. They must remain silent. I don’t know if that is the case in the Canadian debate structure.
Chimera, are you a Luddite or just taking an intellectual stance?
No television?
I mean, you never watched The A-Team?
Barbara, there is no audience in the Canadian debate. However, for both the French and English debates the TV Consortium has sollicited questions from the public and the 5 or 6 most pertinent, according to the organizers, were the object of a short video featuring the person who submitted the question. The chiefs then have 45 seconds each to give their individual answers. That period is then followed by a discussion between them. The 2 hour debate is divided evenly between the themes without publicity interruptions. A TV journalist acts as moderator and has the power to cut microphones when a candidate exceeds his alloted time or does not act properly. For the French debate, everybody was on his or her best behaviour.
“…are you a Luddite or just taking an intellectual stance?”
A little of both, actually.
“No television?”
Only for watching what I can find on VHS or DVD that interests me. And most of that I can borrow from the library. Fascinating what kinds of things you can find that not only educate but also entertain.
“…you never watched The A-Team?”
Every single moment of it. And that, right there, was the problem. I was watching so much television, I didn’t want to do anything else. So I made a decision and cut off the cable. Not even rabbit ears. No more glass teat. Now I get more exercise, more socializing, and I’m much better informed.
I love it when a plan comes together!
Chimera wrote: “There are times when I almost wish I had television so I could watch a particular program.”
I salute you.
The last home I had in Quebec before coming to Arizona I purposely did not have a television…for 10 years.
They were the most productive and creative 10 years of my life.
Chimera,
L fricken O fricken L.
RIP Hannibal Smith.
45 minutes into the debate and I must say it’s very interesting. Palin and Biden are quite skillful. I’m not surprised.