Meet The New Boss, Same As The Old Boss

Election Fever is now projecting a new election in 2009. The results are in, more or less. Is it Groundhog Day? Did we fall through a crack in the space-time continuum and return to August? After 37 campaign days and millions of dollars, the results of Canada's 40th Election strongly mirror the... results of Canada's 39th Election.
Congratulations to Stephen Harper and his Conservative teammates. Back-to-back minority governments? Sweet! It's like you hit the post twice but the puck still managed to trickle past the goalie. Then again, that goalie was Stéphane Dion. And he showed up with no blocker, two left skates and a stick made out of cotton.
Dear Liberal Party: Turn out the lights on your way out, please.

Election Day: Get Your Democracy On!

This is it. After 5,092 days of campaigning – or maybe it just felt that long –Election '08 has reached a merciful, if anticlimactic, conclusion. Is it really almost over? No more narcolepsy-inducing speeches? No more grandiose promises? No more fear-mongering, petty bickering, partisan mudslinging, lame photo-ops, daily policy announcements, doom-and-gloom, war-room shenanigans, chewy sound bites, inauthentic TV interviews, gaffes, pounces, attacks, apologies, spin, bluster, posturing, grandstanding, twitching, and overall, uninspiring leadership?
I'm already feeling nostalgic.
As recommended by editorials in today's Star and Globe: Get out there and vote, Canada! No, really, do it! Voting is important! Voting is fun! Voting is crucial in these uncertain times! So go to it! Vote! Today! Because hip hip hurray, it's Election Day!
Leading up to this poll booth reckoning, our intransigent intrepid leaders zigged and zagged across this great land, shaking hands, posing with toddlers and begging anyone within earshot to, "Vote for me."
Soon, very soon, they'll get an answer.
If you managed to miss the campaign – and if so, can we please be friends? – the leaders have summed up why they are deserving of your vote in today's Star. (Click here for Harper, here for Dion, here for Layton and here for May.)
Me, I'm still finalizing my decision. This will involve a careful re-reading of the file I've kept since Parliament was dissolved. It will involve an analysis of each party platform that gauges the viability of proposed initiatives against the broader context of macro socio-economic trends and global challenges.
Then I'll put on my Lucky Voting Cap and say to my wife, "Who are you voting for?"
So it's 7:30 in the morning and the Election Fever Election Pool is now open: Who's going to win this turtle race? Will we have minority or majority rule? And most important: Will kitchen tables riot if Layton does not become Canada's next Prime Minister?