Federal election campaigns are much more than sound bites from party leaders
I have quite deliberately ignored the federal election campaign until now. It made no sense to write about leaders who talked too much about nothing during the month of August, when no voters were paying attention anyway. However, it is now time to share a few thoughts. This is my column published in the Friday edition of The Peace Arch News and Surrey-North Delta Leader. Although the federal election has legally been under way since Aug. 2, it only really began in earnest this week. There was one leaders’ debate in August, the details of which no one can now recall. There were very few signs up in August, and they were ignored by almost everyone. Attempts by candidates to portray themselves as saints and their opponents from other parties as the worst types of sinners have, for the most part, gone unheard. Far too much media attention focuses on party leaders. This is not only unhealthy for democracy, as it makes leaders think they are in charge of the entire campai...