Hard campaign

All elections can be rough going. And certainly the Newfoundland Liberal party were under no illusions about how hard this one was going to be. They were facing a premier with approval ratings at 70 per cent and higher. There was talk about the PCs sweeping the province. And just to add to their woes, Gerry Reid is really nobody's idea of premier material. I'm sure he's a nice enough guy, but remember, he didn't want to be leader of the party in the first place. When Roger Grimes stepped down, he didn't step forward. A disaster by the name of Jim Bennett did, who the Liberals promptly ousted when he gave the appearance of being too crazy to run the party.

So I'm just saying, it was rough going into election. The Liberals knew it was going to be a rough election. But I don't think the party was anticipating death and hospitalizations.

I didn't say anything when Gerry Tobin died out of respect to his family. But hell, I can't have been the only one to have thought, "Damn, you know it's a rough election when..." Then late on Friday Clayton Hobbs withdrew from the race in Bonavista South for health reasons, meaning Roger Fitzgerald was declared the winner. To be honest, this was just saving time as Hobbs had no chance of winning. Bonavista South was likely going to be the first seat declared for the Tories on Election Night.

But Jesus, now Simon Lono goes down with a blood clot? How brutal is it our there?

I've had Simon in my apartment for supper a couple of times when he was in Iqaluit. He's a hell of a nice guy and I was rooting for him in St. John's North. Now I'm just hoping the campaign doesn't kill him. It sounds like he's going to be fine, but both myself and Cathy are wishing him a speedy recovery. And hey, maybe even a surprise victory in St. John's North as a get better soon gift.