Edmonton: It kind of sounded like bickering...

By Cadence Bergman (Edmonton, Alta.)

If there was any in depth or thoughtful discussion in that debate, I missed it. The leaders looked like disciplined robots with scripted sticky notes for guidance. All the lines were party sanctioned and the interactions were shallow. Even the "hits" seemed like they had been practiced in the mirror.

I wanted to hear some talk about a coalition - not that meaningless exchange about who maybe would have but didn't, and who will never again. They all attended coalition meetings, but while in the hotel room, they somehow never inhaled. There is an interesting issue here, which is whether Canada can avoid having a coalition government eventually, and what the implications would be for the country given the regional nature of our voting patterns. Would it be the end of the world? No. Would it change Canadian politics significantly? Yes.

If you are feeling nostalgic for the good old days when debates were about something and leaders actually discussed policy differences, here is a blast from the past:

Were the issues bigger in the 1980's? Or were the leaders just free to talk about them?