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Sep. 7th, 2008 09:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akashiverCanada's prime minister calls early election
"Analysts believe the Conservatives will have a better shot of winning than if they waited until being forced into an election by the opposition with a confidence vote when the Canadian economy might be worse off."
The bad thing is that, reading this article, I was thinking "plus Harper doesn't want to run against Obama" - and then I got to this part:
"Observers also say Harper wanted a ballot ahead of the U.S. election. Bothwell said if Democrat Barack Obama surges in the next month in the United States, it will help Canada's opposition Liberal party.
"It will be bad for Harper. Canadian politics don't exactly mirror those of the United States but if something happens in the United States it will find an echo in Canada," Bothwell said.
1) We are not the 51st State!!!! I swear!
2) Canadians know that, despite getting news channels from the States, they can't actually vote in the American election. Most of us know this, anyway. I don't doubt there will be a few confused souls who hope that if they vote liberal that nice Obama man might get to become president.
3) But political attacks on the other side of the border have an effect. If Canadian viewers are subjected to a bunch of McCain attack ads claiming that Obama is a nasty socialist out to force universal health care on us all, the Canadian viewer is likely to think, "But I like my healthcare! Conservatives are clearly bad people," and vote for the Canadian liberals on pure suspicion that, deep down, Harper really wants to dismantle our health care system and appoint some gun-toting, anti-abortion soccer mom as Governor General or something.
4) ...and I think most Canadians would be preferring to vote for Obama.
Er.
More Canadian politics as they continue, I guess.
"Analysts believe the Conservatives will have a better shot of winning than if they waited until being forced into an election by the opposition with a confidence vote when the Canadian economy might be worse off."
The bad thing is that, reading this article, I was thinking "plus Harper doesn't want to run against Obama" - and then I got to this part:
"Observers also say Harper wanted a ballot ahead of the U.S. election. Bothwell said if Democrat Barack Obama surges in the next month in the United States, it will help Canada's opposition Liberal party.
"It will be bad for Harper. Canadian politics don't exactly mirror those of the United States but if something happens in the United States it will find an echo in Canada," Bothwell said.
1) We are not the 51st State!!!! I swear!
2) Canadians know that, despite getting news channels from the States, they can't actually vote in the American election. Most of us know this, anyway. I don't doubt there will be a few confused souls who hope that if they vote liberal that nice Obama man might get to become president.
3) But political attacks on the other side of the border have an effect. If Canadian viewers are subjected to a bunch of McCain attack ads claiming that Obama is a nasty socialist out to force universal health care on us all, the Canadian viewer is likely to think, "But I like my healthcare! Conservatives are clearly bad people," and vote for the Canadian liberals on pure suspicion that, deep down, Harper really wants to dismantle our health care system and appoint some gun-toting, anti-abortion soccer mom as Governor General or something.
4) ...and I think most Canadians would be preferring to vote for Obama.
Er.
More Canadian politics as they continue, I guess.
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no subject
Date: 2008-09-07 03:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-07 08:10 pm (UTC)I thought they were hockey moms up in your neck of the woods? (;