“The Liberal campaign was anxious that this exchange not be broadcast…”
Liberal response: Do you tink it’s izzy to hear de question?
Or, maybe he’d just come from a cocktail?
Mr. Dion said the issue was most problematic in large crowds, when numerous sources blend together and make it difficult to understand. “If I am at a cocktail and everybody is speaking at the same time, then I will have difficulty.”
Oh… and did he ever answer the question? You be the judge.
Update:
And thus begins a new chapter in media navel gazing. Aaron Wherry despairs that Canadian “Nobody brings you sweaters like we do!” journalism has hit a “low point”.
Man, it feels like I’ve lost my innocence or something.
As much as I truly hate to say it, the question was very poorly worded, and it wasn’t entirely clear whether the interviewer was asking if he was Prime Minister NOW (as in this moment), or if he had been the Prime Minister for the last two and a half years. Dion asked for clarification, and didn’t get a clear answer imho.
With all of the trick questions “gotcha” journalists ask, I can’t blame Dion for wanting to be sure he understood what the interviewer meant.
It’s the interviewer who doesn’t get it. I wish he had asked the question in a straightforward way, because it’s a good one, and I’d like to hear Dion’s answer. Instead we got a clumsy ambush which could serve to extend some sympathy to Dion while allowing him to wriggle out of having to answer (especially given the admission the journalist said they would not air it, then did).
Poor jounalism!
Just imagine if that discombooblated nincompoop were to be representing us as PM on the world stage, talking to other world leaders. He can’t understand a simple question, repeated three times. I say three strikes and he’s out.
Let’s be sure this gets well publicized. As well we need his plagiarized speech to be made an issue since the media saw fit to skewer Harper for a couple of sentences a speech writer put in one of his speeches. Dion plagiarized a whole bloody speech.
Absolutely no mercy please, we’re dealing with Liberals here and they’re in no shape to govern.
And tomorrow on the Diddler on line show he will once again two times a day trot out Nick Nanos to tell us all that Haarrrper as diddler says, is losing and this PATHETIC excuse for a beta male is closing the gap. If there was any doubt that this guy is a fool then this clip must be the proof of the proof. The media in this country has become our enemy and has been for some time, if these weasels in the press and radio succeed in getting this clown elected then just sit back and welcome the drepression, because the downturn we are seeing now has all been brought on by this money stealing scam global warming and when the green shaft is inserted there will be no room to kiss you own ass and livlyhood goodbye. Remember the NEP people!
Archaeologists had an easier time translating frickin’ Linear B on cuneiform tablets.
Pharoah! Let our people go!
So the inability to communicate in English is a physical impairment now….. ?
” Right Now ” sounds nothing like … two years ago or after the election in any language.
maintenant tout les classe……
Stephane est un dufus.
Andrew Potter over at Macleans’ blogs is pissed…
…at Mike Duffy.
This surprises me, and Andrew seems to think that, rather than hurt Dion, the Duffster may have just handed Dion a Liberal win.
I guess we’ll see. Sympathetic posters at Macleans are torquing this as a language issue, whereas others are claiming that Dion understood just fine, thankyouverymuch, but was actually incapable of answering the question because he’s never thought through the hypothetical (and instead simply criticizes Harper for not doing something different than what he’s actually done).
???
“Andrew Potter”
What happens when you play fart catcher to Wells for too long. I tell ya: Gilligan’s Island, nerve gas attack, Cherniak.
It all fits.
What was just as unbelievable on the Mike Duffy show was Regan’s stunned silence when he was asked to comment on Dion’s faux pas.
Regan looked like he just got hit by a truck. Then there was this embarrassingly long silence.
As for the excuse that Dion is tired, I’m sorry, but that is no excuse. It goes with the job! If he can’t handle the physical stress of fighting an election, how will he handle the stress of being PM?
Jane Taber: “Mr. Dion, who has a slight hearing problem, did not immediately understand the question and had to be asked three times.”
The spin and mitigating damage to Dion has begun.
Jane, if Dion didn’t understand the question, as he claimed in the second take, then why did he “answer it” the first time? It was worded exactly the same the second time. With that fact, how dare ANYBODY in the MSM, including Taber, suggest that this is an issue of langauge.
You know that the Liberals and MSM will attempt to turn the channel on this by borrowing a page from the ’97 campaign, saying that Harper is attacking Dion for being a Quebec politician.
Now I know who Dion reminds me of. Lou Costello!
“Mr. Dion, can we talk about the Blue Jays? Who’s on first.”
Many on the left vote based on emotion. Now would be a good time for Harper and the CPC to be empathetic, maybe suggest that Dion has been under a lot of pressure. Maybe then even women will start to like Harper.
If this man becomes PM, with him being touted as an Intellectual, all I got to say is contained in this poem:
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of “Spiritus Mundi”
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
— William Butler Yeats, “The Second Coming”
Vote Liberal.
Or Else.
I don’t think that the MSM will be able to spin this faux pas around. Prior to the days of the internet, that would have been possible. Not any more.
To add to my previous comment, it wasn’t like Dion was being asked to explain quantum physics in 60 seconds or less. The question was simple and straightforward. He stumbled because he literally had no idea what he would have done differently from Stephen Harper if he were PM right now!
and this is the man that better than twenty percent of Canadians will still vote for on the fourteenth. I wonder at the intelligence level of this twenty percent, what more proof do you need to realize that you have been sold a bill of goods by voting liberal all these years? When the going gets tough conservatives hold the line, liberals melt.
Da proof is da proof
I dunno. This may stiffen the resolve of all of those people out there who are sympathetic to the Libs but weren’t necessarily going to vote Lib, but may now decide otherwise. Politics ain’t rational.
Garth
I agree with those who are saying that this is neither a hearing nor a comprehension problem; he simply didn’t have the answer. At last somebody put a question to the poor man that he could no longer stonewall with backroom or Power Corporation talking points. He tried to think of an answer; probably lost his train of thought, got nervous as hell, and froze. It’s something that’s happened to most of us at one time or another, but we’re not trying to be Prime Minister of the country.
The solution for Mr. Dion was either to know the issues inside out months ago, or to realize that he didn’t have the material to lead and get out of the way. If that video gets any mass distribution, a lot of votes are going to move away from the Liberals. Hopefully not too many of them will go to that slime weasel Layton.
From Jason “The One Coconut You Can Count On” Cherniak’s blog:
“Yes, I am predicting a bare Liberal minority, as I did at the beginning of the election. However, I also know that this is not yet written. We all need to work as hard as we can and we may still just barely miss the prize. Barely win or barely lose, though, there is one thing of which I am certain. This is Stephen Harper’s last election”
You’re right about the media, bartinsky, it’s the worst in memory. They’re firmly in the Liberal camp, any Banana Republic Dictator would be happy to have their services.
If we’ve come to a point where the media can choose governs us we’re lost as a democracy.
“Tomorrow, there will be a huge rally for Stéphane Dion in Brampton. He will be introduced by Jean Chrétien. Clearly, all Liberals are now singing from the same book.
Who else could be introduced by Paul Martin one day, then Jean Chrétien the next? Real leaders bring people together. That is what defines Stéphane Dion.”
This should go viral. The Conservative “war room” should see to it.
This guy is an ineffectual, intellectual, effette Parisian idiot.
And I support his courageous greenshift.
I don’t think Dion was in the rhuuum.
Well Dion did answer the question same as he did with Mansbridge two nights ago on the National. He has no plan. He needs 30 days of meetings to make the plan. That is it.
geoff regan comprehends as much as Borat Dion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnYjIw4nAYs
but the CTV borat interview seems to be gone.
Cbc Halifax has apparently decided this is not news.Nothing up there. Ctv newsnet is ignoring the story even though it was the main part of MDL.Perhaps Duffy should resign rather than be part of a network that is so biased .
Billions of blue blustering barnacles….comprehension problemskis much??!!
Jimmy – you can’t be serious – if someone asks – if you were prime minister what would you have done that Stephen Harper has not – that is not a vague question. And Jimmy – THAT was not the problem in my mind. The problem came when he then answered that he would implement his 30 day plan to have meetings with economists to find out what he should do.
That Jimbo – is the problem.
Who would you want answering the hotline at 3am.
Stephane Dion?
His wife Aline says he’s not a morning person, indeed a bit grumpy until he’s done with his yoga session.
Memo to Canada’s enemies. Attack between 6am and 9am Monday through Friday except holidays.
Those who say the question was poorly worded are full of it. I clearly understood it and so did Dion. He just didn’t have an answer. Period.
It was a fair question.
Sweet, I have Duffy on the PVR, watched the whole thing, sad….just sad. And his answer was a run-around- he just didn’t have a wiff.
I remember thanking god, that Dion won the leadership race….paying dividends now.
So, the guy carrying the mustard for Dijon fends off a question about poor hearing, or poor comprehension, by feigning poor hearing.
Hmmm….
I think the fart catcher was just plainly stumped and embarassed.
Elect me and in 30 days (or is it 50 days), I’ll tell you if I have a plan and let me tell you it will not be passive….whenever I come up with it.
I thought having a hearing problem was a requirement to become a Liberal MP.
CBCpravda , All Lieberal All the Time
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canadavotes/story/2008/10/09/dion-laval.html
You can put lipstick on Dijon, but he will still be Dijon 🙂
cal2 … or Erza’s nic:
To be fair to Regan, the Duffster did say James (as in Moore) before his question. At least that’s what I heard.
But, apparently the cameraman thought the question was posed to Regan and the Duffster left the responder open.
After watching Reagan sit there mute when Duffy asked him for an explaination I could only think….
beer and popcorn redux
And Don Martin writes, “But spare some empathy for Mr. Dion. It’s the end of a grueling campaign, the man has admitted to a hearing impairment and the question was open to interpretation while being phrased in Mr. Dion’s second language.”
This is absolutely unbelievable Need these people be reminded that the Conservatives are also involved in the grueling campaign and running the country during a world financial crisis.
I’d be interested what his 30/50 plan is about.
He also said something that sounded like he would consult with other world leaders about what action to take with the economy,EH, WHAT? Given we’re the in the best shape of any of the industrialized nations,that doesn’t make sense either.
I think the loony bin awaits.
Bart F, I have more respect for the deluded and egocentric Layton than I do for the idiotboy wotziznaym?
Adler on Duffy Live said it best (paraphrasing): “What do you mean he didn’t understand the question? It was asked in English, not Swahili, Mandarin or Greek!”
Adler also noted that the MSM demand that our leaders speak French.
Imagine if this was a decade ago and it was a French question to Manning. The MSM would’ve absolutely PUMMELED him! And Manning is (was at the time) not bilingual. Dion is! And he was asked a straightforward question, each word in single or double syllables… this guy’s an academic! He didn’t understand? Pfft!
30/50 Plan:
“The 30/50 plan was crafted by special Liberal party advisor to the next PM of Canada, Jason Cherniak. It consists of 30% recycled dinosaur dung from the Alberta Tar Sands, combined with 50% recycled grapes from Alfonso Gagliano’s Business Development Bank financed vineyard. As Liberal Party spokeswoman Geoff Regan said today earlier on Mike Duffy Jive:
[5 minutes of dead air, followed by:]
“Its full of shit, and leaves you with a helluva hangover. No one likes it, but you dance with who brought you, or some crap like that.”
For the life of me, I don’t know what the question is, either. Is the guy asking what Dion would have done differently so far, or is he asking what Dion would do now? The tenses are all over the place. I thing any reasonalbe person, remembering English is very much Dion’s second language, would understand how the screwy question mixed up Dion, who was probably trying to translate it in his head.
It’s also pretty sleazy to make a promise to Dion and then break it.
the video seems to have been pulled.
CTV(tass) All Lieberal All the Time.
to think that anyone would even consider for one second electing these Adscam crooks.
“For the life of me, I don’t know what the question is, either.”
Pretty frickin’ simple. Celine Dion said that the PM had no vision, no idea what to do. If you were Prime Minister today what would you do Celine?
Hello, Hello, What is the Frequency, Kenneth?
There is still someone with to much time on their hands if they waste the money first and the time second to read Don Martin, that ass… looks like he just consumed a lemon and bleach sandwich. Lieberal lovers all of them, they obviously have no children or hate the ones they have since the msm hate themselves it stand to reason they care not a bit about the destruction they are bringing on this country if they succeed in electing this idiot Dion.
Mansbridge just washed it over. CBC only showed the most “coherent” parts of the interview. Rather perfunctory reporting. Move along nothing to see here.
You may want to dance with who brought you, but you can bet your bottom dollar on what happens if you hop into bed with ’em.
Sorry Lloyd, if you didn’t get the meaning of the question then you must have a hearing problem too. The question was asked three times. In fact he began to answer it the FIRST time. He blew it twice and wanted another kick at the cat.
There is also an old saying among media people. Nothing is off the recorsd, like it or not. There were other reportes in that studio, and the story would have gotten out.