The debate
Every federal leaders’ debate, much ado is made about “knockout punches”—the critical one-liner or moment that leaves an opponent not scrambling for words, but completely defeated. Brian Mulroney’s famous “You had a choice” attack on John Turner in the 1984 debate is invoked as an example of a debate which had a massive effect on public opinion.
Yet the fact is that such knockout punches haven’t happened in the twenty-four years since. Party leaders these days spend too much time on debate preparation for that to happen. So while it promises to be a good show and there may even be plenty of fireworks, don’t expect anybody’s political career to end tonight.
Thursday, October 2nd, 2008