FOCUS!

For any Canadians out there, please, please, PLEASE don't let this coalition take hold.

Did you watch the TV addresses last night? Harper's little chat came in on time, short, clear, and IN FOCUS. It looked like what you expect from a world leader when they address their nation. Granted, what he had to say was nothing new, but I guess he felt everyone needed to hear it.

Then comes the coalition repsonse. Not really a response since both were pre-taped. It's late... then later... still waiting. Oh, it's at the central hub. Still waiting. 2 minutes. Let's talk about how poor the communication is on the opposition side. 2 more minutes. Okay, here we go!

What. The. Fuck?

Dion was out of focus the entire time. Literally. The bookshelf and flags behind him were nice and crisp, but he was a blur. It also looked like they did a bad crop of the image (did he spill coffee on his shirt?). It felt like the cable access version of a leader's address. He stumbled over words, repeated himself, was frequently unintelligible, came off as completely disingenuous, and generally a tool. The most important thing he had to say was that he was still leaving in a few months.

I know this seems like a minor quibble. The PM had a good camera crew, Dion obviously didn't. Harper was polished. Dion wasn't. What does this have to do with anything?

Lots. This is a group of disparate ideals trying to form a government. They can't manage to get a fucking VIDEO to the press on time and in focus! Their leader can barely get through a sentence when the sentence is RECORDED. I could give him a pass if the speech was live, but for fuck's sake, you had all day to put this together! It's called a RETAKE. If you can't get this most basic of tasks completed, how the hell are you supposed to run a country?

Anyway, Harper just got his wish and Parliament is prorogued. For those who aren't Canadian, it means that Parliament is suspended, but not disbanded. For the next 6 weeks, we essentially don't have a functioning governmental body. The next vote will be the budget in late January, where I imagine we'll be back to where we were yesterday. Unless Harper can swing about 20 votes his way in that time. It's not out of the realm of possibility I suppose.