Evening Shadows

The Ontario election seems all but sewn up, and the interesting thing about the election-- aside from a series of unbelievably idiotic missteps from the Tory campaign machine-- is that no one is voting for anything, but against things. Dalton McGuinty and the Liberals seem to have absolutely no public support per se, but they're poised to win by default, by a kind of sympathy vote against the Tory ad campaigns and the general impulse of antipathy toward the Tories. Ernie Eves and the governing Tories have thrown away what seemed just months ago what could have been a cakewalk, especially with the uninspiring McGuinty having all the charisma and conviction of a piece of corkboard. And then there's the NDP and Howard Hampton; the NDP platforms have largely been liked, Hampton has been surprisingly effective and respected as party leader, but the party itself still languishes in the basement, largely because of the Bob Rae hangover. So, how does all this add up? We won't vote for Hampton because of Bob Rae, and because we don't trust the NDP, however much they may be saying what a lot of people want them to say; we won't vote for Eves and the Tories because they've been in power and they've proven themselves arrogant and smug in their campaign, the living emblems of cheap politics; and no one really wants to vote for McGuinty and the Liberals, except perhaps a bit out of pity, and because they're the only viable option left. As I said before on this blog, this was Eves' election to lose, especially after the surprising burst of support he received after the blackout. But now, he's (er) evened out, and thrust himself into the shadows.

I know this: the heads of many campaign organizers will roll after all is said and done, enough that it may look like the bloodless Ontario version of the revolutionary Reign of Terror. Click here for a report on the apparently deadly decline of the Tories. Note to campaign organizers and politicians: give us something to vote for, not just to vote against. Unless you're Howard Hampton, in which case you're just plain fucked.