Why Harper is the best choice we've got

The National Post has a great article in their "full comment" section, about why Harper may not be the perfect leader we had our fingers crossed for, but why he is the best choice we've got, none the less.

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"Faced with these high stakes, we believe, Canada would be best served if Stephen Harper’s Conservative government were to receive a second mandate, this time in majority form.

We have no illusions that Mr. Harper’s government has been perfect. It’s decision to tax income trusts, in particular, stands as a bald-faced betrayal of its earlier promise on the issue. Moreover, Mr. Harper did not make any serious attempt to clean up some of the more appalling residue left behind by previous governments -- the gun registry, the gag law, Section 13 of the Human Rights Act.

But given the huge range of other activities undertaken in the course of leading Canada, it must be said that Mr. Harper has governed the country well overall. He has stuck by Canada’s mission in Afghanistan, provided sound stewardship for the economy (notwithstanding the inevitable buffeting we are now taking thanks to Wall Street’s meltdown), managed the Quebec file well, returned Canada-U.S. relations to their normal level of amity, lowered taxes, and implemented a number of welcome tweaks to our criminal justice system.

Most importantly of all, Mr. Harper has avoided the temptation to impose any large-scale Trudeauvian social-engineering schemes on the country, of the type the Liberals seem to cook up every few years. ... And for that, Canadians should be thankful."
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As I've probably shown, I'm no Harper groupie. I respect him completely as he is the PM, and I respect him as a great leader. That alone would win my vote; the fact that he is a solid leader, while all the other potentials pale in comparison. They're actually a bunch of wimps, to be frank. Yes, this election is undoubtedly a lame one, but I am hoping that Canadians will recognize that Harper's Conservatives are the best choice that we've got, and that a majority would much better benefit the country than a minority.

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"This brings us to the main reason why we cannot endorse the Liberals. Putting aside Stéphane Dion’s reflexive leftward tilt on everything from foreign affairs to social issues, his “Green Shift” carbon-tax scheme is, by itself, enough to persuade us that he is the wrong man to be running this country. As our banking and financial-services sectors become strained by the worldwide credit crunch, this country is increasingly dependant on our oil and gas sector to sustain us through rough waters. Yet these are exactly the industries Mr. Dion wants to soak."
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The Liberals have a strong record of lying, lying and more lying working against them in this election, and as the article points out, Dion overexagerrating the country's economic crisis does not help this out. I've seen the guy. He's relatively charismatic in that homeless puppy kind of a way, and for that, he'll probably get a few good pity votes. But unfortunately for those voters, that is NOT the kind of man we need leading our country. Especially during these troubling times.

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"In this regard, we are reminded of Mr. Dion’s handling of former Winnipeg-area Liberal candidate Lesley Hughes, who advocated the bizarre and hateful notion that the U.S. and Israeli governments were in on the 9/11 attacks. Rather than act on principle and sack her at once, Mr. Dion initially announced that he had referred the issue to an ethnic lobby group -- the Canadian Jewish Congress — and would do as they instructed. It was a small but stunning abdication of true leadership, and a microcosm for why most Canadians, including members of this editorial board, don’t believe he has the right stuff to lead a country."
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He just wouldn't be a strong leader. His policies are weak, as is his character and general presentation. I do not agree with all of Harper's policies, but I agree with enough of them to realize that he is Canada's best option. He is the strongest leader, and considering the other almost-options, he's definitely the best choice. Dion's green shift and weak demeanor are obvious reasons not to vote for him, and Harper is the only other obvious choice (take "other" away from that statement, actually). The article outlines your other choices for PM, and why you shouldn't vote for them, but I would think it should be obvious.

Get out and vote on October 14th, but give your head a shake first and really think about what's best for Canada in the upcoming times. I guess it sort of comes down to whether you believe we're facing a potential crisis or not. (The answer is yes, but unfortunately I may have to wait for something ELSE to happen in order for the majority of Canadians to wake up!) Never the less... Good article.