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vvWRn EY wM.u, r*wS, WEDl.NSDAY, DECEMBER 6. 198M, PAGI Political junies certainly got their'fil this weekend. And if the .two or three day of NDP convention weren't enough, CBC's Tii Journal Monday night provided a behind-the-scenes look at the wheeling and dealing between candidates between ballots. It was a wonderously revealing bit Simnon de Jong earning from Dave the covetod post as party whip - and then turning around and endoruing Audrey McLàaughlin, the eventual winner. Political conventions, i general, make far botter ontortajamont than hockey. Oh, sure, thoro' none of the brutal olbow-in-the-corner stuf that more booish hockey fans profer to roal skiL. Conventions - especially leadesi races - are more 1k. the. sport of curling. Slow, =dignified alrnost, the results nover really knownÎ until that last rock is hurled. If vou were te rely on the news media, though, you wol esr htti aewsdle hnaMk Wilson speech. And if you listened to Stephen Lewis on national television on Prday night, you would have thought Audrey McLaughhin to ho undone by the mysteries of office. But is it not passing strange that between Frliday night, when everyone agreed her speech to ho wooden, to Saturday evening when ah. won the leadership, that- the media somewhere erjoyed a blinding conversion? McLÀaughin now is praised as a pioneer, a remarkable woman two years in politics who now heads a national party. The point being that in these things our media tond to bedorinated by witers who all want to eanalst and color commentators and no on. wants to describe the game. Por thà1-blazne television. Wonderful medium it is, able te, bring us delightful insights (such as the Journalls presentation Monday night). And through it wo can .se. a image of the candidates and their speeches. WITH OUR FEET UP by Bill Swan Issue andglitter However, this is ail glitter, 1k. sequins on Dolly Parton's dress. AUl the media tend te get carried awvay with thus glitter, and turn high-powered iights inte corners and we ail gasp at the shining sparkles the sequins make. Does any of this have anything te do with politica? Only is asiglhe real meat - issues - tend te hoe ignoiredbeaus you can't put sequins on them and television can't cope with the image they present. 'Througout the whole campaign - even during the speechesby candidates - the media presented precious little on the issues. And it is on msues that any leadership lives and breathes. Oh, sure, it's groat te, have fire-in-your-hoily speeches. But a trained sea can learn te deliver those. The speeches are 1k. compulsauy figures for figure akaters - traditionally part of the routine, but not what really counts. During the months hofore the NDP leadership convenition the media teld us how duil the. race was - but gave us fittde -on the issues and backgrounds and motivations of the candidates. Hence the IYamascus conversion on Sunday. Audrey bas soer-ed fr-om toing the bitch from the north who is out of her depth te, an historic national figure - the fiat woman te lead a party, the first leader to, corne from the north, a person only two years inte politics and overconuing al onbstaespý. 1Ncbod as stoodupad said tothe media, heygluys and. girls -wy the abut face? Haviuug set up a .Mc gla n as a i ht-weight, the media have turned &U circle. Now 4E expectations will ho set so high that eh. surely could nver Masure up.1 But surely it wil ho on othoer mâters that her leaderhip stands of flls. Anyone who can organize and sustain a leadership campaign as smoothly as McL&aughlin's surly bas provon. organizational akulla. Thoese killa ah. can apply te, build the party's foundation. 1The On. thing we learn from the media is that person-to-person, McLaughlin la charming and effective. If ahe can translate that into effective 30-second clips for TV, ah. has another strength. But can ah. shout in the House? Dose it matter? Surely we have too much ahouting there already. The point forgotten by everyone is that convention-type speeches are passe i *tis.No longer are elections won by gat orators ing arenas withthe uncommitted and dazling them wth words. Campaigna are fought in 30-scond TV clips nightly on the news. If voters are lucky maybe - just maybe. - wel see a TV debute. And unfortunately, guarded by the media, we watch that as though it were a hockey gae, complet. with the winners headline for tomorrows news. Fortunately for political junkies, another leadership race will start in January as the Lihorals jump through similar hoops. Let's ail keep an oye on the media as it unfolds. And you cafi'hot that when it cornes down te the balloting, lil b. watching. Heck, when it cornes te, political leadership races, l7d watch Baffe winner anniounoed Ross Porter of Oshawa was the General Hospital Auxiliary on winner of the fail basket raffle at Thursday, Oct. 26. the ïnini-bazaar held by Whitby 11ulLlIrnmqr MFDIMlLl El"EÀ CM lym. IILT"týnn à Mr ý-- -- - - - - - - ý ---