i'm a politically engaged left-of-center voter and the debate more or less ruled out a vote for the liberals this election cycle, and perhaps ever again. i haven't seen a single attack ad. i don't even own a tv. and i'm somewhat of a fan of his father. but justin trudeau demonstrated very clearly - crystal clearly - that he's somewhat of an airhead. this media narrative that trudeau held his own is exposing a lot of the media bias; it's a preposterous analysis. his responses were consistently ridiculous, and bordering on a parody of the legacy of the canadian liberal party. he didn't just look weak. he bluntly looked unelectable.

you're probably right that not many people watched this - on thursday. however, something that has changed in the internet era is that voters can go back and watch the debate whenever they want. they just have to look it up on youtube. by the end of the cycle, i would expect this to result in record penetration. the internet era is not the tv era, and voters will be more informed from this moment forwards than they have been since the 50s, when the tv stole their brains.

and, i'm rather convinced that it *was* decisive and will have a dramatic influence. not because anybody really pulled ahead. the other three parties held their ground, and really only appealed to their base (although the ndp base is expanding). but, because a lot of people on the educated left are going to react by striking trudeau off the list for good - and that quite plausibly may include the entire liberal party, as well.

simply put, he came off as an idiot. whatever criticisms you may want to level at past liberal candidates, this is the first time in my life that i've seen the liberal party run by a man that is clearly a fool. traditional liberal voters will see this. and, that will be decisive.

http://ipolitics.ca/2015/08/07/it-was-a-very-good-debate-and-it-likely-didnt-change-a-thing/

Patrick
Were we watching the same debate? Polls peg Trudeau as the clear winner. Mulcair seemed seemed sedated and had trouble defending his party's misleading $15/hr minimum wage hike. He also had trouble defending his pipeline stance against Elizabeth May, and he seemed to be more concerned with the leader of the third party than attacking the Prime Minister's record.

Trudeau, while he stuttered a little bit (they all did, except for May), made his points and had the closest thing to a knockout punch of the night. "9. My number is nine." A respectable answer, and a clear one, if you pay any attention to the role of the courts in our country.

deathtokoalas
that number nine response made me burst out laughing. it was a ridiculous response that glossed over a complex issue in absurd language. i don't really want to get into it, but it just made him sound like he didn't really understand the ruling.

i really don't find anything misleading about the ads, it's pretty clear to me what a "federal minimum wage" is. but, it's 2015. people walk around with internet access in their pockets. it's a five second google job to clarify it. you can't fool people like that anymore, even if you're trying to.

his response to the pipeline stance is what i mean when i say that mulcair is appealing directly to liberals in a way that trudeau isn't. canadian liberals *love* that non-commited, middle point that balances extremes. we want centrism. moderation. the way he presented himself in the middle of the spectrum suggested he was the logical alternative - as opposed to the conservatives that want all the pipelines and the greens that want none. and, you'll notice he did that line several times and whenever he did he ignored the liberals. it was strong framing; masterful, even. if i was mulcair, i'd be pushing for may in the debates just so he can do that as much as he can. that's the message that the liberal party used to succeed in getting out, and that mulcair is blatantly winning the battle on.

i mean, it takes him a little outside the base. mulcair is definitely going to bleed on the left; he's not a leftist. the greens will benefit from that. rather, he's aiming dead center, at the liberal base. and, i see every reason to expect him to steal a large amount of it.