Bravely off to face the voters?

They had best keep the newspapers away from Paul Martin as he makes the drive to Government house and his 1 pm EST, 10 AM PST visit with Governor General Adrienne Clarkson. Martin is expected to seek his own mandate in late June with an election campaign to be called for on Sunday afternoon.

With polling results indicating a slow slide for the Liberal party of late Martin still apparently believes that the time is right to go to the polls. Pundits are waffling between whether he faces a minority government, or whether the old ways of election will prove to provide a bountiful harvest on June 28th.

Don't count on a number of journalists to act as boosters for the election call, as Martin is finding a cool reception on the editorial and news pages of many Canadian dailies. Jeffrey Simpson of the Globe advises us to hold our noses for this one, he's joined by Margaret Wente who tackles Paul Martin's continual waffling on issues in her Mr. Dithers goes to the people, a scathing indictment of the Martin team and its inability to make a decision. Over at the Toronto Star Chatal Hebert suggests that there's trouble in New France for Old Paul, he should keep in mind that absence may make the hear grow fonder. Richard Gwyn takes the path of what really matters,calling this election more ritual than an effective mechanism of government. Rick Anderson points out that the unexpected should be expected in the upcoming campaign.

Greg Weston looks back over Martin's 162 days and says that uncertainty will rule this election campaign, his counterpart Douglas Fisher writes on how the words of the politicians will come back to haunt them.

Pundits across the country are sharpening their pencils, the buses are revving their engines and the leaders are getting ready to take to the road. Whether we want it or not, whether it's even needed at the moment, we're off to the polls, our long march to June 28th and our chance to pass judgement on our elected officials. Thin skinned politicians should stay indoors, the press, the public and the party officials will be watching this campaign closely, ready to pounce on the slightest miscue. Victory will have many fathers, defeat will truly be an orphan!