In every election worth analyzing -- some aren't -- the key political actors are presented with tough problems which they must grapple with on the public stage. If they succeed, they demonstrate fitness for office. If they fail, they demonstrate the opposite.

In the first two weeks of this federal campaign, the three national leaders did their groundwork. And then in the debates, they tested their solutions against each other in an intense clash in front of the whole country -- probably the best direct, unmediated chance to speak to the public any of them will have in this campaign.

How did it work out?

While the leaders of our federal parties are memorizing their scripts and choosing what colour tie goes best with a white collared shirt (green, sadly, is not an option), rabble.ca is preparing our own live English-language debate coverage. Come join rabble.ca columnists Duncan Cameron and Murray Dobbin on babble (rabble.ca's online discussion forum) as we scour every soundbite, scrutinize every hairdo, guffaw at every gaffe and hold our political leaders to account. Can Jack Layton convince Canada's electorate that he is a viable alternative?

Kim Campbell, once prime minister of Canada for five minutes, got herself pilloried by all right-thinking hypocrites for revealing the dirty secret of democratic politics everywhere: Election campaigns are no time for issues to be seriously discussed. Yet even she didn't have it exactly right. It's really worse than that. In Canadian politics these days, no time is a good time for thoroughly and vigorously debating the daunting critical issues that confront this country.

With election speculation on Parliament Hill running rampant, corporate tax cuts have taken centre stage in Canadian public debate.

The Harper government is sticking to its promise to continue cutting Canadian corporate taxes to 15% next year. It’s a pricey promise: Total Harper corporate tax cuts will deprive Canadian coffers of $14 billion a year in revenue by 2013-2014. The federal government, meanwhile, is in a fiscal deficit situation.

Given recent polling that indicates the majority of Canadians don’t like the idea of corporate tax cuts, it could be a risky wedge issue on which to stake an election.

I’m in a pissy mood about the sad state of politics, so here goes. I’m not even going to try to pretend that I have any respect for these politicians. Frankly, I don’t understand how they, as human beings, remain excited and motivated to strive so assiduously for the simulacrum of power to do the inconsequentially little they propose to do in the face of the great crises soon to overwhelm the planet. And I’m just talking about the good ones there.

The debate

Was it just me or was Harper on tranquilizers in tonight’s debate? As long as we’re drugging it up, I propose a “pass the bong” format for the debate, in which each leader has to take a bong hit before answering a question.