Second Thots

The last person in the world that I'm feeling sorry for at the moment: NDP leader Jack Layton.

After years of hounding the Liberals for being forced into propping up the Harper government, Jacko now finds himself in the exact same predicament of being forced into propping up the Harper government.

Boo hoo.

I'll also repeat here a sentiment here that seems to be common with many current political observers. There's an almost childish quality to the way that politicians conduct themselves in this country, and Jack ain't the only one who does it. Remember Jean Chretien making fun of the Alliance's CCRAP acronym? And it goes on and on and on. But I guess Canadians respond to it, don't they? There has to be some reason for it, doesn't there?

And, by the way, I'm not trying to sound sanctimonious in my criticism. My guess is that I'd probably do the exact same thing if I were in there shoes. Canada seems to have set the bar low in calculating the lowest common denominator, and everyone works hard to stoop to it as close as possible.

Maybe it's because, as hard as it is to say, Canada doesn't matter? We can act as irresponsibly as we want, and nobody else will really notice, will they.

UPDATE (10:37 am): Speaking of the NDP, conventional wisdom seems to be that they don't want an election now because they'd lose big-time. But just when would they be in a position to not lose big-time? With the economy recovering, the Tories will likely be well positioned in the foreseeable future. With more time, the Liberals will get more money, experience, and organization for their leader. So, just when is a good time for Jacko? I guess never. I guess it'll never get this good for him again, and so he'll just hang on for dear life as long as he can, right?

UPDATE (12:03 pm): Another thought. Could you imagine the condescension and derision if the United States engaged in politics like we did? Childish taunts and almost yearly elections don't exactly make us the poster boy for the way democracy ought to be, do they? But, as they say, democracy sucks, except that it's a heck of a lot better than any other system, isn't it?