Who won the Leaders Debate?

For those who watched the English Leaders' Debate, which leader performed the strongest? Or was there no clear 'winner' in your opinion? Are the debates frivolous?

Personally, I thought that Stephane Dion performed surprisingly well. Mr. Dion presented himself as a sincere, respectful, and intelligent leader - "a man of principle," as Jack Layton once labelled him. But he did not appear to be running for the Prime Ministership or even as the Leader of the Official Opposition. In his attempt to appeal to as many voters as possible, Dion came across as "too nice" and was not forceful enough in his criticisms of Stephen Harper and the other opposition leaders. However, voters who cannot stand mean-spirited political jabs ('partisan bickering,' as it is often referred to) would probably choose Mr. Dion as the 'winner' of the debates. 

Jack Layton came out swinging and served as the voice of Canadians who are "pissed off" with this current government. Layton spoke on behalf of the working class as well as those who actually want to see some action on climate change. He explained in layman's terms the NDP's proposal to repeal Conservative corporate tax cuts and invest that money in renewable energy development, transit, home and building retrofits, and a cap-and-trade emissions reduction system. Layton also took Harper to task on his failure to present a platform in this election, on his incompetent management of the economy (evidenced by the thousands of full-time job losses that have yet to be replaced), and on his disingenuous initiatives to address climate change. Noticeably absent from Layton's remarks, though, was a discussion of the homelessness crisis in this country (although the NDP platform contains policies to address the crisis).

Even though I disagree with everything that comes out of Harper's mouth, he deserves credit for 'fending off' - at least somewhat - the four opposition leaders. It is certainly Harper's fault that we are in this election, and he will have to suffer the consequences accordingly, but the format of the debates enabled the four leaders to 'gang up' on Harper, which I thought was unfair and at times uninteresting. Mr. Harper's cheap shot at Mr. Layton, accusing him of using a private clinic that was covered by OHIP, failed miserably since he was accused by all parties of attempting to privatize and weaken the existing public health care system. Overall I felt Harper's performance was respectable if not uninspiring.

Ms. May was the only clear loser in the debates aside from the aloof Gilles Duceppe. Her inclusion was warranted by the Green Party's vote share, single MP (Blair Wilson), and ability to run candidates nation-wide. But her performance was nothing short of confusing. I think most people can agree that May's task in the debates was to separate herself and the Green Party from the NDP and Liberals, especially since the Greens only have one seat and will probably lose it. And yet she completely failed to do that; instead, Ms. May seemed intent on convincing Canadians that she is a bland - and therefore trustworthy - centrist. She also neglected to explain the key tenets of the GPC platform, such as the guaranteed income scheme, a widescale switch from industrial to organic farming, the legalization of marijuana, and the expansion of the health care and education systems. I was disappointed with May's performance because, in terms of policy, the Greens would likely be my 'second choice' in this election.