The Home Stretch, Part 2

On this, the eve of the provincial election, I thought I would share some of my thoughts going into tomorrow’s festivities. I will keep the format of my pre-nomination post, because I am a bit superstitious:

1) You can move mountains in relatively short order. Seine River was a late bloomer for the Tory camp. The nomination meeting was held a mere two days prior to Gary Doer’s election call. Regardless of all of the bravado that is coming from some people posting anonymous comments, they know just as well as we do how close this race will be. This speaks volumes about our volunteers that have managed to make Seine River a riding to watch.

2) A wise person told us that Mrs. P&UW and I would be amazed how many people step up to the plate once you win a nomination race. Were they ever right. The realization that so many individuals were helping out when they could be doing a plethora of other things put wind into my sails. They were out pounding signs and walking with me in the hottest (and sometimes cold & wet) weather. I owed it to each and every one of them to give 120% each and every day. Words alone cannot express my gratitude for the chance to meet some of the most fantastic and inspirational people around.

3) My respect for Hugh has increased exponentially. Even the MSM themselves have admitted Hugh got the roughest ride over the course of this campaign. While Mia Rabson indicated Hugh “muddled” through CFS taunts at the U of M, my impression was that he soldiered through it - I challenge anyone to maintain their composure the way Hugh did during that press release. I personally saw him field many tough questions at the door deftly and expertly. Heck, I was oftentimes the one asking some of the tough questions. As an ex-banker, rest assured I had many people fake their way through a barrage of my questioning. Not Hugh. He was articulate and well versed in every issue & concern I raised with him. There is no doubt in my mind we need a leader like him if we really hope to restore our province to its former glory.

How do I feel right now? Eerily calm, all things considered. The closest comparable I can come up with is the feeling you have just before a final exam. You have done everything you can to prepare and it all comes down to what happens the next day. Instead of making sure I am using the same type of pen and having my trusty HP financial calculator that successfully got me through many prior exams, I am blogging the night before. After all, it did work the last time I faced an electoral race…