Elections

I've been fascinated by the elections going on here in North America.

The Canadian election did not seem to capture anyone's imagination, and appeared to be a failure to every party. No majority for the Conservatives. Liberals tanked and Dion is soon to be out. NDP did not meet Ed Broadbent's high or capture a seat in Quebec, let alone make the breakthrough that labour parties have been able to in other British Commonwealths such as U.K., Australia and New Zealand (For which we can all thank Bob Rae -- why are the Liberals even considering him for leadership?). Bloc lost votes across Quebec. The Greens couldn't even win a seat.

In the U.S., the election is a slow grind -- at least there the possibility of renewal not only exists, but is currently in the lead. We'll see if Obama can stay there until November. ("Recent" thinking by some Anderson Cooper wannabe at CNN says that the polls in favour of Obama might be misleading, since Americans don't like to admit their racism.) Actually, I'm excited for election day in the States because I will be there on a conference. It's also interesting to see the fascination with Sarah Palin (especially the SNL sketches with Tina Fey -- Alec Baldwin's "You are way hotter in person" was great!). I am thinking that her protracted 15 minutes of fame are soon to be up. Alaska will never fly under the radar again!