Not sure if anyone has noticed during this campaign, but for the most part our national candidates aren’t as afraid of the ole camera as in previous elections.
By far the bravest of the brave is the guy with the least to lose, Gilles Duceppe who isn’t going to win a seat outside of Quebec (mainly because he isn’t providing candidates) hasn’t been afraid of the possibility of embarrassment. Duceppe who in the last campaign made the hair net a fashion accessory to avoid with his Harpo Marx like visage in white has tempted fate successfully this time around. In the last week we’ve had a picture of Duceppe devouring a hot dog, taking care of an ice cream cone and shooting hoops in a playground. They were all photo ops that just tempted disaster to strike. Ask Bob Stanfield how banana’s and footballs went together in 68.
Paul Martin most recently appeared on the front page of the National Post blowing soap bubbles into the air. Oh for the chance to be the caption editor that day. “Pop goes the campaign” for the pessimists, “Up, Up and away” for optimists. Through the campaign the camera lens has focused on an earnest Martin sometimes just in his shirt sleeves looking to get down to work one assumes. Then there was his “speakers’ corner” photo op, where he ranted just like an Avril fan into the MuchMusic like machine in Ottawa.
Jack Layton of course has that face that seems to love having a camera on it. He has that perpetual grin, kind of a cross between Jack Nicholson as the Joker or Jack Nicholson as a crazed hotel inn owner (redrum anyone). At any rate, if there’s a camera around you can be sure Jack is sure to follow. One memorable photo from the Globe is of Jack slapping on the bug repellent while visiting Winnipeg (and that was for an indoor event!!), talk about a guy that can relate to the little guy eh!
Stephen Harper up until this week seemed to be willing to take his chances as well. There are a few photos of his he might want back one of him slipping his finger into his collar as in boy it’s getting hot here. But for the most part his photo appearances have been non destructive. His fastball at Skydome photo, while duly recorded went mostly unheralded. Though one wonders that considering the Jays pitching woes of late, they didn’t sign him on the spot. Never mind the election Stevie; can you give us three innings of relief? Perhaps if things don’t work out on Monday the Jays will be calling him up, and the best news is he wouldn’t have to change his uniform colour.
Now that the shouting is all but done, we can check out the family photo albums. The Globe and Mail has a collection of snaps on their election page it’s called sights and sounds. Over at the CBC they have turned their webpage over to the citizenry for their snapshots of the campaign, not as many pics of the big four but lots of human interest stuff around the country.
For those who like their satire, editorial cartoonists have sharpened their pencils, this CBC site checks out some of the work of the campaign. All of the other major news sites, canoe, the Star, CTV etc have photos of some description, you just have to work a bit to find the ones that stand out, but as they say the camera never lies, if you are still looking for some guidance as you prepare to vote, checking out a photo or two may give you the nudge when it comes time to mark your X.
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