There is another leadership race?

So I met with one of the candidates from the Alberta leadership yesterday and I have to say I realized how much I have been ignoring provincial politics out here.
This isn't an Ontario kid bias, I have never cared about provincial politics and I find that provincial politicians are generally uninspired and petty (not to say Federal politicians aren't the same some times).

If I had my way they would be stripped of most of their powers and reduced to street naming and holiday proclamating. (Not the kind of holidays you get off, the stupid ones people randomly declare and have certificates and photo-ops for.)

But off topic rant aside, in our current state of affairs the provincial governments hold sway and I suspect Alberta will hold much of that sway in the years to come. You know, with the giant pile o' money and the oil and did I mention the money.
So the leadership race is important, especially since the PC leadership winner will be premier. The chances of the Liberal or NDP Leader becoming premier are about as good as Darcy's ill-fated run for pope. (You had my vote champ)

The leadership candidate I met was Ed Stelmach (seen to the right) or as I have taken to calling him, much to the dismay of my colleagues, Ed! He was a fairly standard politician no direct answers, broad ideas, no controversial stands.

In my admitingly limited research, I found most of the candidates for the leadership have, in terms of ideas, very little separating themselves. They all have different backgrounds and different experience, but there are few radical ideas.

The other interesting thing about the race is that anyone can join the PC party for $5 and cast a vote. Which, while also being democratic and open, is also a very clever fundraiser. Ralph Klein and his pals are not as dumb as I often assumed.

Speaking of Klein, now that he is a lame duck he has gone a little off the reservation. He has been on TV all summer saying all kinds of terribly entertaining things.

For example, earlier this summer he told the press at his annual BBQ that he doesn't understand why anybody would want his job because it is so much work. He also says it hasn't been nearly as much fun since the press made him quit drinking.