Clark’s TV special long on charm, short on facts

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A half hour address on TV yesterday may have been about the premier’s vision for the future, but it also featured cameo appearances by Vancouver Canucks personnel director Dave Babych and former federal Conservative MP Stockwell Day.

“I was born and raised in a house on the south slope of Burnaby. My dad was a public school teacher and my mom was a stay-at-home mom,” Christy Clark narrates about two minutes into the piece.

Pictures flashed on the screen of a young Clark in front of the old family station wagon. She used the scenario to emphasize how her father didn’t leave the family in debt, and parlayed that into a discussion about fiscal responsibility and the importance of not leaving future generations with giant bills to pay.

But OMNI TV’s Kim Emerson says the piece was short on reality.

“A lot of things were glossed over. There’s no mention of the fact that the Liberals have not had a balanced budget for years. She keeps talking about eliminating the debt, yet the debt has continued to increase.”

Emerson says it’s not surprising the piece centred so much on Clark interacting with ordinary folks, who call her a “tough cookie” and a woman who has deep inner strength.

“They’ve got her front and centre. They need her front and centre. She’s their best hope at this point to peddle the messages they have. She’s very photogenic. She has a big smile. But the problem is, the substance is not there.”

Clark used the address to announce the Liberal platform, which is called “Strong economy, secure tomorrow,” will be unveiled today. The writ will be dropped to officially announce the beginning of the provincial election campaign period on Tuesday.

What did voters think or the premier’s TV address?

The court of public opinion wasn’t too kind on the streets of Vancouver during the morning commute; many people didn’t even take the time to watch.

“No I didn’t. If I wanted to see something like that, I’d walk into a cow field and not watch where I walk,” John tells News1130.

Among those who did see the paid half-hour TV spot, some had trouble buying into the branding.

“I think she’s lying a lot,” says Jurgen. “She’s not really telling the truth with all this fantasy she’s talking about. Why didn’t she do it over the past two years, all these programs she wants to implement?”

“She’s playing politics. Just go do it; I just wanna see action. She hasn’t shown any,” adds Alison.

Another passerby tells News1130, TV address aside, he really doesn’t know what he will do on May 14th. There isn’t any candidate he would want to see as premier of BC.