We're back in Calgary and off the foggy roads. Well, at least until the furniture arrives... Next month.

And let me just say that while I love Chicago, the State of Illinois Department of Highway Robbery is quite another matter. The rebuilding of I94/80? Oh yeah that's going really well. And thanks for making it even harder for out-of-state folks to pay for your tollways. Beauty. Illinois is managed kinda' like Canada. One party, for far too long.

Which leads me to my opener of the new blogging year; the Great Canadian Election of Winter 2006. People are starting to stir to the fact that they may elect a Conservative government but I'm going to doubt right here that it will be a majority. I am indeed filled with wonder and respect yet again for the people of Quebec. Not only have they moved the Conservatives from 8% to 20% in the Quebec polls; but also, they are definitely on to something in the likes of Gilles Duceppe.

Duceppe, destroyed the last vestige of Paul Minister Prime Martin's credibility over 2 nights of debate earlier this week. Duceppe is no master of the English language but, like Chretien, he is much better than he lets on. Drawing Martin into recognizing the "Nation" of Quebec on Monday was a great moment in Canadian politic debate. For me, the best I've heard since Mulroney's famous "You had a choice, Sir!" outburst in the '80's.

Harper's, 'aw shucks, I'm not a charismatic spin-doctor' routine was just what the spin doctor ordered. Now the race is his to lose.

Liberals had it all with Jean Chretien. They had the House, the Senate, the Privy Council. They built on the legacy of their enemy Mulroney - who began the process of great national transformation - and they let the economy throb to life. They had the trust of a majority of Canadians and they were embued with a heritage of entitlement that was firmly rooted in the legacy of the Trudeau and Pearson years.

Over the past 3 years -- for no good reason -- the Party has rusted and wrenched itself apart. We are witnessing no less than all out civil war in this election as Liberals fight Liberals for the crumbs of the legacy.

Into the breach steps an untested Conservative party. An amalgam of reformers, populists and progressives. The next stage of national greatness will once again be initiated by a Conservative government. Will Harper be a Mulroney or a Clark? A Macdonald or a Meighen? Will we define ourselves by the visions of a leader or the narrowness of a man?