Election 2007: Other Leaders Prime Time Debate

[Poor Student]

You've left out the best bit, when Grizzly Adams said "Sure the Bank owns that" (The holiday House) Mickey Mac bit back, quick as a flash "Which bank, the Northern Bank ?" I can't stand McDowell, but that was quite funny.

Adams actually enjoyed that, you could see him grinning.

[beautifulrock]

You've left out the best bit, when Grizzly Adams said "Sure the Bank owns that" (The holiday House) Mickey Mac bit back, quick as a flash "Which bank, the Northern Bank ?" I can't stand McDowell, but that was quite funny.

Yes indeed Tony , i laughed at that, Grizzly didnt bat an eye lid though, although there was a few "stage coughs" from the rest.

[Bald Student]

I just watched it now on the internet and (unfortunatley) I thought McD came out of it the best. I disagree with pretty much everything he said but from the point of view of communication he did very well. He made his two or three points strongly and repeatedly and played well on the three against one nature of the discussion.

I vote for the Greens so it was disapointing to see them do so badly. Trevor allowed McD to derail him very easily and used nearly all his time to correct McD on minor points instead of expressing his own opinions.

Gerry was very poor, he didn't seem to know what he was talking about half the time and Pat was his usual pomous self, I could hardly believe the number of times he said 'I've made myself very clear' at the end, while not making himself at all clear.

[Poor Student]

I vote for the Greens so it was disapointing to see them do so badly. Trevor allowed McD to derail him very easily and used nearly all his time to correct McD on minor points instead of expressing his own opinions.

I think you could feel a genuine disdain from Sargent coming through from McDowell. The PDs have been spreading several outright lies about the Greens e.g. corporation tax and vaccinations and it's rattled them. You can see this in Gormley's rant and Sargent's borderline aggression towards McDowell.

[BohsPartisan]

I vote for the Greens so it was disapointing to see them do so badly. Trevor allowed McD to derail him very easily and used nearly all his time to correct McD on minor points instead of expressing his own opinions.

Did he mention his organic garden or his home made bread?

[pete]

Not watched the debate yet but Greens don't really do leadership. Sure didn't they have joint leaders for a while? I think they used to think having a leader is like a Central American dictatorship. Sargeant could wear a recycled bin bag & won't damage their vote.

[Bald Student]

I think you could feel a genuine disdain from Sargent coming through from McDowell. The PDs have been spreading several outright lies about the Greens e.g. corporation tax and vaccinations and it's rattled them. You can see this in Gormley's rant and Sargent's borderline aggression towards McDowell.

True but these people are supposed to be adults, let alone political leaders and should be able to handle themselves better.

When you have bizarro medical policies which, McD's misrepresentations aside, they do, You should be prepared to defend them and know in advance what you're going to say. Waving bits of paper in front of the camera and point your finger aggressively doesn't do any good.

[Aberdonian Stu]

I vote for the Greens so it was disapointing to see them do so badly. Trevor allowed McD to derail him very easily and used nearly all his time to correct McD on minor points instead of expressing his own opinions.

This is the big problem I have with the Greens campaign. They keep on going on about how the PDs are campaigning negatively but highlighting it won't help.

They need to take the dignified stance and not waste their time correcting them, especially as (irrespective of the actual importance of the points they are challenging) all their corrections are delivered in a very nitpicky manner.

They should focus on what they're saying. A lot of punters want a reason to vote for, or at least give a high preference to, the Greens. Getting bogged down in petty squabbles doesn't achieve that.

[Bald Student]

I was thinking about this last night (Pacific Time). I thought the contrast was interesting with how McD handled himself when Adams misquoted what he'd said about equality. He quickly corrected the statement and then went on to point out that Adams has two houses and was therefore talking rubbish, putting Gerry onto the back foot. He turned defence into offence very quickly. I'm not too concerned about a politician's debating skille but it's something the greens could learn from.