Bernard Gauthier

Some quick observations as I watch the debate. All three of these guys are good but a clear loser and a not-so-clear winner has emerged, in my humble opion. In no particular order, here are my thoughts on all three.

What’s wrong with Howard Hampton’s left hand? It’s been in his pocket all night, which makes his hand gestures very ineffective — too much with the right hand. That being said, his eye contact with TV viewers is excellent and he seems well prepared. The sad and concerned look is getting a little tiring, however. I think he may also be getting tired as the debate rolls along — he’s breathing more heavily and having a tougher time completing sentences. It’s a subtle difference but it shows. He’s suffering from a bad cold, we find out in the post-debate scrum. His closing statement was too much of a downer. This would have been a good time to be upbeat.

John Tory is also well prepared with loads of anecdotes to pull out at will. His ability to recall individual people he met on the campaign trail is impressive and effective, though he did turn to it a few too many times. The big trouble for Tory is he’s talking too fast. It starts to sound a little too automatic after a while and he’s unable to add emotional colour at this speed. On the plus side, he’s very comfortable in the studio and knows exactly where to look and how to communicate with his body language. He knows just when to turn and face McGuinty, rather than the camera. He’s tried hard to confront McGuinty came close to clean hits a few times but often ran out of time — McGuinty seemed to have a good sense of when he was in the corner and managed to interrupt the flow by jabbing back at just the right moment. Tory looks a little pale here — the make-up could have been a little warmer.  His final flurry on “Why are we last?” was very effective. His final statement was a good one and I like how he stated his confidence that “I can do better.” The final words were perhaps a bit too much like the advertising copy — slogans lack sincerity.

Dalton McGuinty is holding his own here. He’s taking it from both sides (how convenient that they placed him in the middle) but hasn’t (so far) lost his cool. He’s also armed with loads of facts and figures but is looking down too often at his notes and then finding it hard to re-focus on the camera. The shaking of the head when he can’t quite counter attack is not a good idea. It looks defeatist. The “negative” charge against Tory was used a few too many times. That’s when you know it’s scripted and planned, which really weakens the impact. Once he gets on a roll with a list accomplishments and plans, he actually smiles a litte. Nice touch. His final statement was solid and he did well to thank his opponents.

Winners and losers? Hampton definitely finishes last here in terms of delivery and style. He clearly was not operating at 100%, especially as the debate wore on. As for the remaining two, it’s a tough call. Each had their moments. Tory took some good shots and delivered with confidence. He never quite got the rare “knock out punch,” however. In the end, McGuinty had the much tougher job (2 against one and all) and, when he hit his stride, got into a very comfortable and personal zone. In those moments, he was the most approachable of the three. He could have done better but he emerged, in my mind, as the winner by a slim margin.