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Partisan SmugWatch: Post Byelection Edition

As established last night (okay, and this morning) by the Inside Politics decision desk: 

The Conservatives are allowed to be entirely smug over Montmagny--L'Islet--Kamouraska--Rivière-du-Loup. As to the riding of Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley, they are granted a limited licence to gloat quietly, at least in public, since really, it would have been a very bad sign if they hadn't managed to win that seat back. Coquitlam is, however, declared a smugness-free zone, since they got smoked by the NDP by any metric one cares to employ. 

The New Democrats, not surprisingly, win unlimited smugness privileges throughout British Columbia, but are no longer permitted to claim Nova Scotia as a seething cauldron of unabashed orange just waiting for a federal election to break free. Sorry, but the results in CCMV just aren't impressive enough to garner even a probationary licence; it's all well and good to say that the party improved its share of the vote from 2008 by 13 percent -- and they will, oh, trust me, they will -- but that doesn't take into account the fact that the last time around, they were running against Bill Casey -- Bill Casey, for heaven's sake, who could have won that riding as a candidate for the Cannibalism Party of Canada. You simply can't use him as a baseline. 

The Bloc Quebecois are granted a restricted subdued satisfaction licence in Hochelaga, but with the stipulation that they be visibly humble over the results in Riviere du loup. 

The Liberals have failed to meet the minimum qualifications for any smugness licence, limited or otherwise, but are, somewhat grudgingly, given leave to remind any overly extrapolatory pundits that they never expected to win any of these ridings in the first place, for heaven's sake -- but on a strict 72-hour time limit, since honestly, it's already getting old. 


Tags: blackberry jungle, smugwatch 2009, talking point patrol, there will be no appeals, this is your final warning