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Mood: Happy ]
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Currently: Eating Breakfast ]
In my family, politics was a blood sport. My father and stepmother are very politically active. The news was watched and debated. They were card carrying members of the Conservative Party of Canada at one point, and attended political conventions. I learned a lot about the inner workings of government sitting at the dining room table listening to the two of them.
So I enjoy watching a political horse race. And let me tell you, what is happening in the US, actually is way more exciting than most races up here.
We Canadians like to see ourselves as progressive and liberal. We also like to compare ourselves to the US and say "we are so much more progressive than you!". But in terms of this election, the US has us beat by a mile.
You have a black man and a woman battling it out to see who will lead one party. Oh, sure we’ve had a female Prime Minister, but she was appointed and is a bit of a national joke. And one of them, Barak, actually talks to the voters like grown ups! His response to the "race issue" was so calm and rational, it was refreshing.
And your other party is lead by a guy who spent years in a bamboo cage in Vietnam and has views that can be considered quite left. Although McCain may be courting the religious right from time to time, he seems to represent the Republicans that have grown tired of their nation and party being hijacked by zealots.
Oh sure, their are pockets in the US who are clinging to the old ways, and the candidates are not perfect, but I think Canadian politicians have a lot to learn from this election. Diversity, not division, is a good thing. Ideas, not ideologies, are important.
Bravo my American cousins! Bravo!