Quotes in the News

The end of the spring legislative session has brought a multitude of commentary by political reporters from around the province.  Here are just some of the recent "quotes in the news".

"It's time to start thinking about a B.C. Liberal dynasty. The Mustel poll released this week confirms the success of the Campbell government's effort to move toward the centre. And it suggests that the Liberals have the chance to hold office for several terms."
- Paul Willcocks, Times Colonist, May 12, 2006

"Campbell is making more surprising history by leading the Liberals to dizzy new heights of support in the opinion polls. The latest Mustel Group survey pegs support for the Liberals at 54 per cent, a jump of eight points since the election.  The NDP has dropped five points to 37 per cent. That's a 17-point lead. In politics, that's not just a gap. That's a canyon."
- Michael Smyth, Vancouver Province, May 18, 2006

"The next election is still three years away. But now that the Liberals have so shrewdly captured the middle political ground away from James and the NDP, an historic three-peat looks likely."
- Michael Smyth, Vancouver Province, May 18, 2006

"I think the economy is going well enough, the public sector labour settlements are strong enough and the government ministers were a little more on their toes. It adds up to a good year so far for the Liberals."
- Vaughn Palmer, Cutting Edge of the Leg, CKNW, May 19, 2006

"With scant ammunition in the here and now, the NDP have been left groping around in the Liberals' first term for issues to badger them about."
- Les Leyne, Times Colonist, May 20, 2006

"I'm hard-pressed to think of an opposition member who's made much of a splash."
- Bill Good, Cutting Edge of the Leg, CKNW, May 19, 2006

"It was a lacklustre performance, I thought, by the New Democrats, and I think they've got to start doing a little better job next time."
- Keith Baldrey, Cutting Edge of the Leg, CKNW, May 19, 2006

"I think the government ministers were more on their toes; they were more able to defend themselves. I also think the Opposition was a little weaker, and Carole James wasn't here a lot, and she didn't have a lot of presence in the House, so I hope she's, for the sake of the NDP, outscoring points around the province, because she didn't have a big presence in the capital."
- Vaughn Palmer, CKNW, May 18, 2006

"And James at times sounded scripted, as if she were reading questions prepared by staff without listening to the answers."
- Vaughn Palmer, Vancouver Sun, May 18, 2006

"But James let that opportunity pass, as she did other opportunities during a session when she was all but invisible many days.  The leader of the Opposition could have used the debate on the premier's office budget to highlight Campbell's weaknesses. Instead, she did more to expose her own."
- Vaughn Palmer, Vancouver Sun, May 18, 2006

"She's [James] had a very low-key presence in the Legislature and at times, and Vaughn wrote about this yesterday, at times not an impressive one."
- Keith Baldrey, Cutting Edge of the Leg, CKNW, May 19 2006