Say it ain't so Eddie, say it ain't so.....

43 degrees 38' 59" North; 79 degrees 22' 59" West


In yesterday's Globe and Mail, BoyWonder and Editor-in-Chief Edward Greenspon did a marvellous job digging himself deeper into a hole of his own making.

First he tried to explain why pollsters, rather than his reporters or editors, are the ones who show him the way when it comes to which parties get ink in his paper. In this case, he was trying to explain why he had suddenly come around to paying lip-service to the previously shut-out Greens.....

"....our Ipsos-Reid polls are detecting a bit of a coming of age for the Greens, probably not enough to win seats but likely enough to play a spoiler role in British Columbia and qualify for public funding in future."

Of course, this had nothing to do with Green Party positions, programs or candidates. Instead, it was worth reporting, albeit briefly on page A6, because it was a 'horse-race' issue wherein the Greens, by virtue of pulling 8-10% of the Pacific vote, could quite possibly keep the NDP from pulling the rug out from under both the Harperites and the Martinites in B.C. But our Eddie, ever the quick and nimble defender of all positions at all times had a ready, if lame, 'proactive' explanation cleverly designed to deflect any and all future criticism that he was being non-substantive....

".... I asked for a show of hands (in the weekly editors' story meeting). It was nine for, one against and three abstentions. And so early next week, you will be able to find the Green platform on our website along with the major parties...."

We here at the Gazette figure that this really means that, while it may get you a few kilobytes on the the BellGlobeMedia server, the double whammy of Editors on your side and the Ipsos Reid imprimatur does not entitle you to a real story with real analysis that imparts real information that could be used to real effect by a starved electorate on voting day.

Kind of makes you wonder..... if John A. MacDonald were to turn up tomorrow, would he immediately be shunted off to Nowhere Nova Scotia because his crazy talk about 'Confederation' wasn't supported by conventional wisdom, scientific polling, or the carefully protected and self-selecting herd that is today's pack journalism.

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UPDATE: June 14th, 2004
43 degrees 38' 59" North; 79 degrees 22' 59" West, and just a little to the Left

From the 'At times like this it's better to be a follower than a leader' Dept....

CBC's 'The National' unveils it's big election backstory for tonight (and only two days after Eddie G.'s lead, wot)...

"Monday, June 14, 2004, 10:00 p.m.
What is the Green Party all about?"