Not surprisingly, all three political parties claimed victory in last night’s leaders’ debate, but if we could set aside the prism of partisan politics for a minute, we’d get a much different picture.
Kathleen Wynne, as expected, focused her attack on Doug Ford and scored well on Ford’s inability to give specifics about his lofty campaign promises.
Both Wynne and Andrea Horwath hammered Ford on his contention that he could find over $6 billion in savings, but no one will lose their job and no programs will be cut.
For his part, Doug Ford delivered his zingers at the premier, but he looked nervous and often ill-prepared for the questions that were raised.
WATCH: Ontario party leaders spar in first major debate before election
In a couple of the free-for-all sessions, Horwath and Wynne dominated while Ford stood idly by, seemingly with nothing to contribute to the debate.
After the debate, one conservative pundit suggested Ford won simply because he didn’t lose his temper with his two opponents.
I hope we haven’t set the bar for leadership that low.
In a nutshell, Horwath was the only leader who actually answered the questions that were asked, Wynne spent too much time trying to defend a tattered track record, and Ford just doesn’t seem ready for prime time politics.
Nothing happened last night to change the minds of decided voters, and sadly, not much happened to help undecided voters make up their minds.
Bill Kelly is the host of Bill Kelly Show on AM 900 CHML and a commentator for Global News