The federal election looms closer and I find myself growing increasingly cynical. I could only stomach a few minutes of both the French and the English televised leader's debates. It was like watching my sister and me try to out-yell the other when we were children. A political leader should lead through intellect and innovation, not through bluster and lung capacity. I'm not sure I want any of these buffoons near any aspect of my life.

This is what other Canadians had to say on the debates, all pillaged from today's Globe and Mail:

These are our "leaders"? Their comportment in these debates is a frightening spectacle. Talking over each other, answering questions that only they can hear (certainly not the ones I heard posed to them), behaving like children arguing in a park over who is next at bat.
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I would like to thank The Globe and Mail for its prescience in running the front-page photo of the historic match between Stephen Harper and Paul Martin in Tuesday night's debate.

Even a cursory glance should reveal that Mr. Harper's overly aggressive play of Rock is beaten by Mr. Martin's bureaucratic Paper.

It warms my heart to see that politicians are finally embracing a higher form of dispute-resolution than the archaic "who talks louder" form of debate to which we have become accustomed.

It would appear that Mr. Martin is going to win hand over fist.
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After seeing the debate in English I am left wondering how, out of a population of 30 million, did we Canadians end up with these four?Link

How refreshing it was to be able to watch a leaders' debate undistracted [sic] by even the slightest hint of charisma.
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Voter apathy is at an all-time high. I encourage people to vote. I encourage people to consider the issues they deem important before they vote. A confident-sounding leader, like Stephen Harper, does not necessarily make a good leader, as Ontarians have learned with Dalton McGuinty. I am discouraged at the thought of living in a country run by the Conservatives and mini-Dubya, even if it's just a minority government.