There's a good editorial by Lawrence Martin in today's Globe and Mail about how the Conservatives are pumping up the similarities of the current election to the one in 1957, which dumped the Liberals after 22 consecutive years in power. As a history teacher, I believe in learning from the past, and the article points out some ominous warning signs:
1--the Liberal party in power for a long time, and showing its arrogance
2--a drop of 10% or more, going into the polls
3--dictatorial handling of a huge government controversy
4--a country with a smooth-running economy, populated by bored, disaffected voters
If you're a Conservative, you should be welcoming these developments. That said, the article does point out some interesting differences.
The key to the 1957 campaign was the oratory and fire of new PC leader -- and soon to be Prime Minister -- John Diefenbaker. The article describes, fairly accurately, that Dief ran a "liberal-style, nationalist campaign in which he
conjured up a vision of Canada as being on the threshold of greatness."
Stephen Harper is no Diefenbaker -- in fact, he is much more the docile, dull-as-wood counterpart to then-Liberal PM Louis St. Laurent. Meanwhile, though he is not the orator that Diefenbaker was, Paul Martin is the one running the nationalist campaign, with more fire and gumption than his Conservative opponent. As Lawrence Martin puts it, "Stephen Harper...looks more like he is out for a stroll along the Danube than on a mission to slay the Grits a la 1957."
My take on all of this is that history has its own delicious sense of humour. Political and military scenarios constantly repeat themselves, regenerating for each new era. Go no further than the parallels many are making between American actions in Iraq as compared to the events in Homer's Illiad, as brought to life in the movie Troy. But it's much more fun when you can change the pieces on a well-worn game board, and send the players into less familiar territory. That's my historical take on the overall election situation, at any rate, and it's playing out right now all across the country. Nice to see that some people in the Globe seem to agree with me.
After all, it's always nice to be validated. 
