Sandra Pupatello Pitch Speech

The inestimable Jeff Jedras (who is sitting next to me)  said Sandra Pupatello sounds a bit like the gal from Fargo, and there is some truth to that in her small-town accent.  "What you see is what you get" seems a key part of her message, and what you see is a big personality with big hair, a little corny at times but with a touch of the Iron Lady in her  as well.   "I will bring the opposition to their knees," is a paraphrase of one of her applause lines, and so far its the one this morning that made me laugh out loud, because it sounds like she's actually prepared to do it, with a baseball bat if necessary.

I think Sandra's speech was an explicit  attempt to contrast herself with Kathleen Wynne, though most of the differences between them are a matter of degree and tone.  Sandra gave a more full-throated defence of  OLP policy, though in fact she is proud of the same things, generally speaking, as Kathleen is.  She also projects as more of a warrior than Kathleen, though Sandra too has promised to  work with the opposition as far as possible.  And whereas Kathleen pushed her social justice credentials, Sandra struck with what I would call "meat and potato" issues.  No call out to First Nations; a bit more of a focus rhetorically on jobs jobs jobs.

Also, fellow progblogger Rachel DaCosta made a note of how she liked the pearl necklace Sandra was wearing, and indeed (at the risk of sounding a bit sexist) Sandra is a handsome woman who would look like a natural in any boardroom on Bay Street.  I spent some time picturing in my mind what she would look like on a debate stage next to Andrea Horwath and the squirrelly Tim Hudak.  In my mind I see Tim Hudak getting his ass handed to him.

To be Premier you have to win the next election, and of all the candidates so far, Sandra is the one that looks the most campaign ready which, when you think about, might be the thing most likely to scare the opposition out of provoking one.

PS.  I'm not going to blog the Eric Hoskins speech, but he is possibly hotter than Gerard Kennedy.