Stephane Dion: Excuses, Excuses

[GuitarsOfVideoGames]

Arnold Schawrdzy - muscles ?

[Darklightdixen]

poor Dion. The media really can paint any picture they want of someone based on a ridiculous misunderstanding and poorly phrased question to begin with. It's unfortunate he wasn't given a chance to lead our country - he wasn't great at putting on a show and being fake like all other candidates. Not a bad thing when its backed with intelligence and good ideas. Why is our system so backward? We wouldn't be in the current mess of Harper aftermath if he'd been elected in 2008.

[gopconservative78]

he needs to learn English...dumbass

[Muldfeld]

Typical disgusting CBC. Always playing up to the fascists and superficial. Shame on the CBC. The question was unclear even to this English speaker. It was idiotically phrased and exploited.

[SuperColossal33]

@Muldfeld i thought it was pretty straight forward...if you were pm instead of stephen harper what would you have done differently about the economy.

[Muldfeld]

@SuperColossal33 It wasn't clear at all. The guy totally screwed up his tenses, and then pretended he didn't make a mistake to humiliate Dion. Dion has language issues, but he was also confused by the logic issue. The question was poorly phrased. The problem was the premise of the question and the guy exploited Dion's confusion instead of responsibly trying to clear it up. It's just more anti-French crap from Anglos.

[SuperColossal33]

@Muldfeld Except that Dion's clarification after the interview wasn't any better when he 'did' understand the question.

[mikefastener]

@Muldfeld Actually, the question was very clear. Dion is "suddenly" is hard of hearing.

My god--we dodged the bullet on making sure this guy did not get in!

[just4tunes]

@Muldfeld the question was poorly phrased my ass!! What would you have done differently if you were prime minister? Sounds pretty straight forward to me.

[patrick43215]

@Muldfeld are you serious???

I understood it perfectly fine the first time

and its a well known fact that the cbc has a liberal bias

how can you possibly call the cbc facist?

[Steveyy999]

The Liberals are bad, but the Conservatives are worse. Especially harper. He doesn't give a fuck about the working people, just look at the tax cuts he gave to corporations. Jack Layton and the NDP are the only ones actually looking out for the people. Go NDP.

[mikefastener]

@Steveyy999 The only one Jack Layton is, "actually looking out" for is Jack Layton.

Ask him about his stay in publicly subsidized housing while the homeless were dying on the streets of Toronto.

Need I say more?

[BigStick3456]

What is the name of the female anchor in the video?

[tyedevonhannah]

The question was very simple, and his excuses are very poor. If he couldn't understand a simple question like that it proves he is too simple minded to run a country.GO CONSERVATIVES!

[waqasy]

r u fucking kidding me?

his question was very valid, the journalist could have said "if you had won 2.5 years ago, how would you have deal with it"

[tyedevonhannah]

fuck you, you fucking cock fucker. hes a fucking liberal peice of dick meat and besides i wrote the comment 11 months ago... do you want somone with the IQ of a chimp to run your country? dickweed!!!

[Pipercub7]

Dion is no different than Liberal "leaders" of the past, such as Chretien and Trudeau.

Accept responsibility for nothing, seek power for the sake of power and influence for your friends, Don't answer questions honestly and directly, even if you can understand them.

Thank our lucky stars that he committed political suicide by jumping aboard the Coalition Train to Nowhere.

He was so dumb, that he was led to the train by his own party.

Wave Goodbye one last time, Stepahnie!

[tatakatakashi]

Mr.Dion had reason to be confused and ask for clarification, and that the journalist, someone whose job it is to solicit information for viewers, did not do so was unfair and unprofessional, and I vote NDP.

[tatakatakashi]

So the question "If you won the lottery, what would you do?" refers to your winning the lottery in the present, not the past, even though "won" is past tense. Similarly, the question "If you were Prime Minister" ("was" changes to "were" in hypothetical statements) refers to the present, not the past. Asking "If you were the Prime Minister" means right now, but does not necessarily imply that you would have been Prime Minister up to that point.

[tatakatakashi]

I will agree that the tenses used in the original question were confusing even to me, and I teach English. I think it would have been more correct to use the past perfect tense and ask: "If you had been Prime Minister instead of Mr.Harper, what would you have done differently". I think Mr.Dion was in the right when he asked for a start date. English has two major tenses, or aspects: Indicative and Hypothetical (not real). When making hypothetical statements, the tense is moved a step back.

[Lucidboomer]

Even though I am a cons supporter,I have to agree with you. The question is far too convoluted, wspecially for someone from France. Past, present and future tenses are described differently in Eng vs Frch. The question was a setup.

Dion's handlers should review questions ahead of time. I would have insisted they put the question in a form that makes sense. I feel badly for Dion. I wonder who is at the base of this setup? Traditionally the CTV support Liberals. This is quite curious.

[fifajfofam]

yeah, it seems more than coincidental that CTV and most Canadian press has become so pro-harper.

[avenuePad]

I agree, this question was a set up, or just incompetence on behalf of Steve Murphy. However, CTV has never been pro-liberal.

[Lucidboomer]

You must be from the east because out here in the west, CTV has always been pro Liberal. They will do anything to start a fight.

[avenuePad]

hah! I am from the East. :) Originally born and raised in Ontario, but eventually my family moved back to Nova Scotia. I did live out in BC for some time. Loved it out there.

But Mike Duffy was clearly pro-conservative after all. I sorta feel betrayed that he took a senator appointment. All these years I felt bad for thinking he was a Conservative because he would tell the audience that he was neutral. Well, Mike Duffy made himself a liar and the audience a bunch of suckers.

I love Canada.

[Lucidboomer]

Yes... In the end Duffy thought only of himself. I have never liked the media in Canada. I wish there was a better way. In the end its all about politics and power.

So sad.

[gundamWWW]

Heather Hiscox is hot!

[Cnd1867]

Same here in Ontario, it's disgraceful on the CBC's part.

[acetradamus]

ctv is trash and i will kick their asses on the street

[Lucidboomer]

The MOST telling story here is the break between CTV and the Liberals. The Liberals have had 75 years to cement their relationship with the media. They've doled out a lot of money that should ensure they have all their key people in proper positions of influence. I've complained about the CTV Liberal spin for many years. Now for the first time I see a break in the armor. To me... this signifies the end is near for Liberalism.

[youbooyou]

I guess the bias is shifting since Conservatives is in power.

[KhaledCanada08]

What is unprofessional is having a candidate running to lead Canada and being part of these bloopers himself as well as not expecting that someone may use Mr. Dinon's slopiness as a painful weapon. Being the smartest person in the country should not necessarily grant leadership. The package is way more spohistictated. I admit though that he doesn't have these fox eyes like someone else.

[LORDOFMUFF]

They released bloopers wich is very unprofessional.

[youbooyou]

Nothing wrong with releasing bloopers but it's a very retarded question. To be honest if a person wanted to take the question seriously and answer it directly. It doesn't make sense. There's clearly a tense mix up. When I first heard it I was thinking wtf is he asking. I'm very surprise that CTV decided to even take it out, because the question is so damn stupid it's even more disgraceful that they asked it 3 times without rewording their faulty questoin.

[ifrit1780]

wow... blame the journalist... very nice..

[jyd0402]

He's like the one guy at the party that needs every single person there to tell him he's not invited to get him to leave.

[woodbinedrinker]

He's a retard!

[zebrastriper1]

Harper could kick his dumbass! They should play a game of scrabble. Winner takes the PM job!

[student431]

he is dumb, so are all liberals. I CANT BELIEVE U STILL NEED 30 days if u get in OMFG

[Normalman50]

I would rather have a black leader with a bone in his nose than this idiot.

[1967PONTIACGTO]

Maybe it's because I'm a one legged blind orphan whose dog ate his homework!

[escapemtl22]

Big time loser !!

[StevoElsupremo]

how many people here are losing faith in our countries Leaders, like SERIOUSLY imagine this moron running a COUNTRY?!? what a nightmare that would be....

[bogdaiki]

"Sometimes is the journalist" - NOT THAT TIME YOU FUCKING RETARD !!! What's the point in bringing that up twice?...

I wasn't born in Canada, came here 10 years ago at the age of 33 - but my English and accent are much better than this clown's...

[QuebecBlows]

Well, ya know, we needs da proof and da proof is da proof and when you have da good proof, its proven. Jean Chretien said that. We now have da good proof that Dion is a complete idiot too.

[barilko5551]

We listened to the question over and over and over again STUPID....cant understand it??? YOu are as dim-witted as he is...maybe you can get a job in the loser Liberal party. And then move to Kwo-bek

[Timberghost2000]

Kwo-bek, lol! Good one!

[youbooyou]

He tried to answer the question too directly. He didn't bullshit his way out. The question was stupid can couldn't be answer seriously. Go watch the question.

[slashykentz]

Dang guys, with the coalition government and all...I am seriously doubting this man's ability to communicate properly, let alone lead the country.

May there never be any problems in the future with this man leading our country.

Merci. ^^

[boisbrut]

what a douche.

[TheB3e]

Dion is the real Cornholio..

[LivesForJihad]

TERRIBLE EXCUSES DION. STOP MAKING EXCUSES!!!

My hearing, my language!!

[fableofdream]

Okay I don't like laughing at others' English, but I can speak better than him and I'm not even trying to hide my accent...

[PumnuBun]

she is so hot!!! wow!!

I love you! 72

[edp5678]

Apparently we are to believe that Dion has that rare form of deafness where he hears everything perfectly except for the English language. Who believes this crap except for Liberals?

[bobbizen]

i dare you. make fun of people with hearing problems.

if this is why the liberals lost, canadians are in worse shape than I thought.

[Kootchako]

The Liberals lost because of the Green Shift and inability to counter any Conservative policy. Mr. Dion was the Environment Minister for some time also and CO2 and other contaminants went through the roof. I am an energy analyst and can tell you the Liberals plan for Kyoto was super flawed. Not much better under the Conservatives (unfortunately). Regardless, the Liberals should replace him fast. I got the "douche chills" watching that interview.

[edp5678]

No, the Liberals lost because thankfully enough people could detect the horrible smell wafting from the so-called Green Shift, just another Liberal scam to stuff their fingers in our pockets.

[lolitathebitch]

No, what happened Tuesday was the old "election rule"....Lets vote for the least incompetent candidate. But, imagine this for a second...If a French television station in Quebec had done the same thing to Harper, the rest of Canada would have said that those damn Quebecers are shit disturbers and they are not real Canadians. So, politics is not a fair game. In fact, it is the dirtiest game you will ever play in your lifetime.

[kissed61]

Great,we really need a PM who has comprehension issues,lucky we don't have a nuclear bomb

[gonzo1483]

Dion believes Canadians deserve specific answers, so he gets frustrated when he isn't asked specific questions.

Pretty rare in a politician.

[saibjai]

I think the real problem is, a seasoned politician would have given an answer pertaining the question in general or how he understaood it and not have even considered the details of now, today, or whenever. In the end, the "when" that he was so focused on, was basically irrelevant to a good answer, and it made him look stupid. i can't draw conclusions, but i think ppl have the right to question whether he was nervous because of the question, or of non-comprehension..

[Superbird281]

"If you were Prime Minister what would you have done different?" Seems pretty straightforward to me.

Spin it all you like the guy's a yutz. I know he's a citizen of France. Is he even Canadian?

English is by far the dominant language in Canada. Deal with it.

[gonzo1483]

"If you became prime minister TODAY, what would you have done YESTERDAY?"

lol, dumbass reporter.

[yarnathan]

Oh please, this isn't difficult to understand. If you were PM today, as in, if you were in Harper's position, what would you do that he hasn't. I had no problem understanding this, and neither did anyone else that isn't a die-hard Dion supporter.

[jdawgizzleshizzle]

try to answer the question then yarnathan. While dion was stumbling he uttered bits of 3 different plans because he would've had a different plan pending on the circumstances. For instance a plan months before the market crash would be very different than a plan during the crash. You can't be so dismissive of a smart man struggling with what appears to be an easy question.

[yarnathan]

The question is clearly how would you address the current economic situation if you were PM. At this point, all you have to do is talk about how you react to the current developments, that's it. Do you inject money into the banking system to buy up mortgages? Do you do nothing and let it sort itself out? I don't have a Ph.D like Dion does and I can still figure this out. What's worse is he had it explained to him by the reporter and his aide and still couldn't do it, so don't give me that.

[bruins020477]

your right the reporter screwed it up...but it doesnt hide the fact the Dion 1) had no plan and was stalling and 2) has the same English comprehension my 6year old has

[musicgal68]

Mr. Dion didn't understand the question? Really? Oh, I think he understood the question. However he wasn't prepared with an answer. He could have used the old ruse used by Mr. Cretien and simply said, "We have a plan, and when you have a plan, then that's a good plan, and the plan's the plan, and our plan will be implemented withing 30 days, etc."

Oh, spill the beans! Let us all in on your ground-breaking economic plan to continue to save the country preferably BEFORE we go to the polls.

[andrialauren]

Dion didn't understand the question because it was grammatically incorrect. Maybe we should be more concerned with the interviewer's inability to ask a clear question.

[g4sy]

andrialauren: grammatically incorrect? I've aced grammar through secondary school and university. Now my strong suit in writing grad papers is solid grammar. I can't detect even a HINT of grammatical confusion or wrongness. Can you please explain the interviewer's inability to us?

btw I could have understood and answered the question and I don't think I'm at all qualified for MP, much less PM. Esp. compared to Harper. Go Harper!!

[ratz822]

Dion is an idiot, Harper is a liar, and Layton is a Communist...what other choices do we have???

[coluwyvurne]

May the bush-hippy :D

[coluwyvurne]

Elizabeth May, the tree-hugging bush hippy!

There's always the Rhinoceros Party of Canada.

[mayorelvis2]

Largang is correct. Dion got mixed-up between the present tense statement and the past tense of "would you have done" This is quite common with people who use "word to word" translation instead of looking at the whole sentence and the context. So.... yeah his english is weak but that is not the reason I dont like this guy. Remember Jean Chretien, his language skills were below average but yet Canadians elected him. There was a presence about him and charisma, two qualities Mr. Dion does not have

[jkbiggs67]

He didnt understand the question,good spin Liberals he has no answer for the question.

[chokinjoe]

Give me a break , all you Liberals making excuses for this guy. I don't care if did or dind't understand. Can you honestly see this morn at a G7 summit or Talking to the new president.He would make Bush look like einstein.I laughed when he was made the liberal leader and you only have yourselves to blame. Even Bob Rae would have been a better choice.

[djwright44]

So did he not understand the question, or didn't he hear?? Even the fourth time he didn't answer the question. He was asked what he would do differently than Harper and the fourth time AGAIN, he stated he would create a plan...meaning he has NO PLAN NOW....very dangerous to elect right now.

[TimDyck]

He screwed up. Fair and simple. But if Harper had made the same mistake it would have been all over the MSM, not just an issue on YouTube.

[deenums]

OMG Who is advising this man media-wise?? They should be fired.

It's clear from the interview he understood a question, he was asking for a start date to the hypothetical mandate.

[Gdawg00700]

all this crap aside... can you honestly imagine this guy as the leader of our country ? Give me a break.

[Rmac2007]

also it shows what CTV truly stands for "Conservative TeleVision" not "Canadian Television"

[Rmac2007]

1. Whoever is in charge of editing the video is obviously pro conservative

2. if that was Sidney Crosby being interviewed by Murphy and Sid messed up , you know it would have been edited

3. If Murphy screwed up the interview, do you think they would have showed that?

4. Let's see Harper answer all those questions in french

[LARGANG]

I'm presently taking french language training and understanding if the question is in present tense, future, or past tense is important. The question was if you were PM TODAY, what would you HAVE done differently...this doesn't even make sense, When Dion asked when? Again the journalist used present tense TODAY...but refers to the past. Dion asked "so you mean if i were PM 2.5 yrs ago..to which the reply was TODAY. Give me a break, CTV should learn how to ask a proper question

[Matt04182]

You're right. The first time I saw the interview, I didn't notice it, but the question, when given in a secondary language, isn't easy to figure out. While a PM should know English well enough to be able to answer that question, I think the attacks against him are a little unfair - and unthoughtful.

[thunderflash82]

What a lame ass. How can he say he has a hearing problem. He had no problem hearing or answering her questions.

[thunderflash82]

Dion: "I didn't not understand the question". The correct response is he didn't understand the answer. Dion had a Palin moment and now he's gonna become a well roasted turkey on election day.

[mom2crue]

What a douche.

[jjr123987]

I think its time to stop bothering this man. You'd rather criticize someone with a hearing impairment than a scoundrel like stephen harper. Unbelieveable.

[troonbop]

So, the question was vague, but asking it to be clarified was utterly beyond his communication skills? Instead, he melts down, no doubt confident the msm will cover for him as usual. The PM's office is not a sheltered workshop and politics isn't nice; if you can't cut it in an interview, how are you going to deal with foreign leaders? Just get flustered and ask them to repeat themselves for a "do over"?

And by the way, we don't say "retard" anymore, retard.

[keemurah]

i am not a dion supporter, but any objective person has to conclude that the question was vague to begin with and could easily been misunderstood. Anybody who cannot see this is retard.

[thunderflash82]

Ok, whatever dude. He had the question asked three times with two explanations including one coming from his own handler. If the question was only asked once I'd give him the benefit of the doubt but...

[CastorCanadien]

Canada's Inspector Clouseau ... and he wants to be Canada's next prime minister ... wotta joke !!!!

[8krs]

This gaffe is inexcusable. It surely begins to make one wonder if this situation has been happening too regularly in 'protective' interviews and the MSM finally had to go with the all too often reality. In the media's titanic struggle to appear fair over this election, they've now realized that their 'friendly' coverage could actually put Dion in the Prime Minister's chair come Thursday. Now that looks very very scary all of a sudden.