Again, why be angry with Layton or Martin? Who created the need for Martin to accept the NDP's amendment - perhaps a guy named Harper. Harper made a huge blunder, lost his gamble, and just managed to fail his constituents miserably. It's a good thing Harper doesn't actually mean all that stuff he says about free votes in the Commons, b/c he sure has illustrated he doesn't have a clue about how to accomplish something when its not a top down world.
If I were to evaluate the leaders, I'd say Layton was brilliant in this mess. He got something for his constituents AND was seen to make government function which is apparently what Canadians want (sheep according to the conservatives around here). Duceppe did as expected - neither good nor bad. Martin was mediocre - he probably managed to make the CPC's look bad getting Stronach and passing the bill but has not come off as a particulary strong leader. Harper gets a huge fail, IMO. He "accomplished": lost a member, saw Cadman vote Liberal which is not where the guys heart is, visibly aligned with the Bloc AND forced the government into adopting NDP legislation. For an economist, he sure shows a miserable understanding of game theory.
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