April 23 2012: Alberta Provincial Election

[FLAMESRULE]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Raj won to me, Smith and Redford did well enough, and Brian Mason was there right?

Uh, yeah no. He did win over the Mason jar.

[The Goon]

Originally Posted by Buzzard

I hope you meant "hot" in an angry way!

Ah, her hair looked nice.

I don't know that anyone won the debate, but I ended up being more impressed with Dr. Sherman than I thought I would be.

[NuclearPizzaMan]

The leader that won the debate was the one that most closely aligns with my philosophy, obviously

[CaptainCrunch]

I thought Sherman did a good job of attacking Redford which had to have been his goal. I don't think he landed a punch on Smith that would take votes from her.

I did like it when Mason pulled out the Hansard and had Redford angrily denying that she was lying about the senior centers.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by NuclearPizzaMan

The leader that won the debate was the one that most closely aligns with my philosophy, obviously

The zombified remains of Doug Henning didn't attend

[old-fart]

Raj did better than expected, Mason is still the nutty NDP guy with no hope for more than 5 seats, Redford lost I'd say appearing angry and unable to articulate her policies or defend her record, and Smith held the course giving as good as she got and scoring a few points on Reford.

Overall, it likely will improve the WR vote, perhaps increase the Libs a bit, NDP appeal to no one but NdP voters so that's not changing, and Reford probably lost some support to both the Libs and the WR.

Not a good night for Alison.

[Senator Clay Davis]

The point of a debate is not to be the best speaker or have the best lines (though those help) but to present your case the best. Redford and Smith essentially told everyone what they already knew. Raj did too, but at the very least he offered more details than Smith or Redford. I'm not saying I think he's the best candidate, I'm saying he had the best debate performance.

And yeah I said that too that Raj doing well hurts Redford, hes not stealing a soul from the Wildrose base.

[Jacks]

Raj did way better than expected but he didn't win anything. No clear winner as is the case with 90% of political debates IMO. Obviously I'm biased because I can't stand Redford but she came across and really angry and desperate. Smith wasn't spectacular but she held her own and that's really all she needed to do. I did notice though that EVERY time they went to open debate Smith started off the conversation, it's almost like the other just waited for her to jump in.

[Senator Clay Davis]

I suspect most polls on who won will very much mirror the current overall polls, maybe a bump for Raj and a decline for Redford and Mason. I think Smith stays about the same. Still it was a better debate than I thought it would be. Sadly no Ron Paul style rants so no 5 full drinks at once.

[old-fart]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

I suspect most polls on who won will very much mirror the current overall polls, maybe a bump for Raj and a decline for Redford and Mason. I think Smith stays about the same. Still it was a better debate than I thought it would be. Sadly no Ron Paul style rants so no 5 full drinks at once.

ya, agreed. More interesting than I thought it might be, but overall not much new. Redford likely down a bit, Raj maybe up, NDP doing their 10% Edmonton only thing, Smith staying the course.

Unfortunately for Redford, she needed a whole lot more tonight so even if you charitably give her a "even" rating, she loses.

[Resolute 14]

The Edmonton Journal's poll on who won the debate is leaning Redford, in case you still weren't convinced the PCs are now a left wing party.

[To Be Quite Honest]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Raj won to me, Smith and Redford did well enough, and Brian Mason was there right?

Well Raj will get half the vote from the Brown population just because they have the same first name.

[Flickered Flame]

In my opinion, there was no clear winner but that is a big loss for Redford and the PCs. All of the leaders had their moments, good and bad. I found it interesting that Mason and Redford agreed on several topics throughout the debate. Raj was the comic relief and Smith did enough not to lose.

[kirant]

Originally Posted by Jacks

Raj did way better than expected but he didn't win anything. No clear winner as is the case with 90% of political debates IMO. Obviously I'm biased because I can't stand Redford but she came across and really angry and desperate. Smith wasn't spectacular but she held her own and that's really all she needed to do. I did notice though that EVERY time they went to open debate Smith started off the conversation, it's almost like the other just waited for her to jump in.

I'm probably still a PC support, but I agree with most of this. Sherman seemed to bumble a bit and came off a little unprepared at times, but was better than the "rolling on the ground" humour I was expecting from him.

Redford seemed confused on what she's said and tried to wash off anything with denial and anger when something was convincingly proven against her.

Smith was the "winner" by default.

...Oh, and I think Mason was there.

[gildo]

Originally Posted by To Be Quite Honest

Well Raj will get half the vote from the Brown population just because they have the same first name.

Well I guess that means that pretty much every 3rd White guy will vote for Mason since they have the same first name.

[The Goon]

Originally Posted by To Be Quite Honest

Well Raj will get half the vote from the Brown population just because they have the same first name.

Wow. Just...wow.

[old-fart]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

The Edmonton Journal's poll on who won the debate is leaning Redford, in case you still weren't convinced the PCs are now a left wing party.

Pretty odd that... can't understand how she "won" and the fact that poll is close is bad news for Redford. She needed the knockout punch, and didn't get it.

[Fozzie_DeBear]

Originally Posted by old-fart

Pretty odd that... can't understand how she "won" and the fact that poll is close is bad news for Redford. She needed the knockout punch, and didn't get it.

Its hard to land a knockout punch, when you are on the defence from three sides and having to defend 40+ years of activity...while your opponents only have hypothetical plans for activity.

She had the toughest job by far...NDP and Libs aren't going to waste time trying to get votes from the WRP the demographics are all wrong.

I think that the WRP is just dreaming to think that they can sustain/improve services AND run such a frugal budget...unless you are going to shift some services to the private market. Which adds flexibility...but is associated with poorer service for the less well off.

IMHO...I like what Redford has done over her brief term as Premiere and would prefer the devil I know to the devil I don't.

WRP would be the perfect opposition with the Libs/NDP holding a balance of power.

[SebC]

Is it just me, or did Smith look and sound like she was on the verge of tears for much of the second half of the debate?

[old-fart]

Oh I agree she had a tough challenge but when you the incumbent, trailing by double digits in the polls and can't defend your record, you are in serious trouble. It will be very interesting to see what the polls do over the weekend.