'fraid not

I find that very surprising from you Steve, or do you believe that the other two have no hope of returning more than Harper's lot and, therefore, forming their own minority.

But, do the vast majority watch the debates or do they simply rely upon their chosen media's interpretation of them?

Exactly.

I don't see the Liberals or the NDB as having a snowballs chance in hell of getting enough votes to form a government.

As is usual, the scandal yardstick (or metre stick) used by and for Liberals is by orders of magnitude ginormously larger than for the Conservatives.

I love how the Libs bring a successful non-confidence motion and then Iggy begs Canadians to vote only Liberal this time around, if that isn't a lack of confidence I don't know what is.

I have to admit, not for the first time in your case, that I have no idea what you're getting at with that post.

Nor I. I think the implication is that the Liberal misappropriation of funds through the sponsorship scandal (where, although there were several hundred million dollars kicking around, the total unrecovered was in the order of $35 million) is somehow a greater evil than the deliberate and calculated lying to the House that Bev Oda was found in contempt for, and the deliberate and calculated witholding of information on key policies which the whole government was found in contempt for, and because of which the government fell today.

In case any Conservatives still labour under the misapprehension that this is not significant: this is the first and only time, anywhere in the world with a Westminster-style political system, ever in history, that a governing party has been found to have been in contempt of parliament. Not an individual MP, or even an individual minister, but the whole government. That is overwhelmingly serious and threatening to the entire system of democracy on which the government of this country depends. It is several orders of magnitude more damning of Harper and his approach to governance than any past misdemeanour of any government of any political stripe, ever.

I'm glad to find you exercised on this point. Which of course I agree with.

However the question remains. How stupid are the Canadian electorate?

Sadly I have to believe that the majority of the Canadian public is totally oblivious to the seriousness of the Conservative actions.

You seem to be letting your hysterical hatred of Harper & co cloud your objectivity.

Actually on Wednesday when it became clear that there would be an election I was travelling with collegues from China and Columbia, places not particularly known for free elections. We listened to the reporting on the radio - they both thought an election would be a pointless and wasteful exercise. They had thought Harper was ok in the past but not now but wouldn't be voting for liberal party led by Ignatief either as they don't have anything to offer and they thought he was a flakey lightweight. They probably wouldn't be voting at all they said.

(I sense that question is rhetorical.)

As a nation I don't think we're any more stupid or smart than any other people but the choices on the ballot aren't the full menu we deserve. Some will vote Tory because the economy doesn't seem too bad right now and they'll think (rightly or not) it's Harper's doing. Even though he swore it wouldn't effect his leadership some will vote for him because he's fundamentalist Christian, and some will vote against him for the same reason. Some will vote along their traditional party loyalties, and some will switch because their govt. has been proven a scoundrel. If a coalition of strange bedfellows takes over by some miracle it won't be the end of the world, and if they can manage to stay honest with us we may be better off. The Conservatives would no doubt act as a more effective opposition than the Liberals are now (I keep seeing Baird spitting) and if the Bloc's on the podium too Quebec can feel involved like never before.
When I see the PM in question period Oda and Ambrose are always sitting right behind him....... has anyone else considered he might be boning them? I know it's a disturbing image but they're his best supporters - if anyone thinks that Kairos grant was refused just because Bev didn't like them they're naive; if it wasn't at Harper's direction she at least knew he wouldn't approve of the allocation. Monica Lewinski probably thought she was in love with Bill Clinton and admired him so much she'd do anything for him......... Oh to be a fly on the wall....

Maybe the majority you speak of is just sick of the fe_k-in Liberals.

Like you I won't speak for the Canadian majority, but I would not vote for them even if they were the only bloody choice...not in my lifetime.

Who are the NDB by the way....or are you advertising for the Neil Diamond Birthday Party?

This isn't:

If the helmet fits....

If the helmet fits whom?