The debate

Thanks to the miracle of Shaw Digital Cable, I was able to watch last night's Alberta PC Leadership Debate via Global Edmonton.

Rick Bell's column in today's Calgary Sun sums up the night fairly well in my mind.

Beyond that, I made the following observations:

DINNING
Did reasonably well. Not a knock-em-out performance, but stayed on message and used his two interjections well.

STELMACH
This was the first i've seen of him since the debate I went to in St. Albert. His public speaking has greatly improved. I was glad to see his son Les (a reader of this humble blog) in the audience... belated congratulations to Les and his wife Liza on the birth of their son (their first child and Ed and Marie Stelmach's first grandchild).

HANCOCK
Came out strong. Perhaps a bit more confrontational than necessary, particularily since most of the others weren't. Dave is clearly fighting back hard against perception that he is an also-ran, and I think he may have made a bit of headway last night.

DOERKSEN
On par with what we've seen so far. He's a good man, but a bit out of his league.

MCPHERSON
I think this guy earns points every time he opens his mouth. He's smart and articulate. He's said he'll run in the next provincial election... if he does, i'll fly out to volunteer... we need more Gary McPherson's in public office.

NORRIS
Folksy and friendly. Just like we've had for the last 13 years.

MORTON AND OBERG
I lump these two together because I found their performances to be quite similar. They stuck to their narrowly scripted visions. Given their histories and general demeanour, these two could have easily been noted in their high school yearbooks as "Most Likely to Pick a Fight with... anybody!" I have come to the conclusion that electing either of these two would go a long way in keeping me in British Columbia after I graduate.

Now speaking of British Columbia, i've started updating Blake On The Coast (BOTC) on a regular basis. It also has a new header which would not have been uploaded without the grace, skill, and infinite wisdom of Allie Wojtaszek. So head on over and give it a read... we're less than 3 weeks from the complete transition to BOTC!