Watching the debates...

I don't normally discuss politics here, and won't actually get into too much detail on my personal political views, but last night I had a great time flipping between the two debates.

For my American readers - Canada is in the middle of a Federal Election campaign, though, unlike yours, it's only about five weeks *g*. Our leaders debated in English last night (the French debate was on Wednesday) and I'm still so undecided, I decided to watch. But I've also been following the American campaign and admit this is the first time I've ever tuned into the VP debate.

Sean was out, so I made dinner and got comfy on our bed and set the remote up so I could switch back and forth with just one button. The styles were very different - in Canada we had a moderator, but the questions were ones video taped from voters. And, for the first time, instead of using podiums on a stage, the leaders were seated round a table. I liked the less formal setting, but I gather not everyone did.

The contrast with the very formal, American process was interesing, yet somehow made it all the more compelling to try to keep up with both. I'm one of those middle-of-the-road people when it comes to politics. I'm aware of the issues and certainly have a general idea of who is who and what they stand for (if anything), but I don't generally read a lot of the newspaper stories, blogs etc.

Years ago, I was involved in the Queen's University Model Parliament, along with my friend Lucy. Though I admit at least part of the appeal of that was the fantatstic parties *g*. Still, it taught me a lot, way more than I learned in the one PoliSci class I took.

But then I got rather jaded, and tuned out to an extent. The issues surrounding both these current elections has, however, regenerated my interest. Hence my channel bopping last night, between both the debates AND the post mortem process. Another Model Parliament crony is now a major pollster, so I tuned into the channel where he was commentating, as well as our two news networks AND CNN. Meanwhile I also read reaction to the Biden/Palin debate online.

Talk about multi-tasking! But it was a fascinating evening. And I now remember why politics, in all its forms, drew me in in the first place.

How about you? Have you been following the current campaigns?

Teresa

Currently Reading: Every Secret Thing by Emma Cole
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