Jack Layton was the winner. He dominated the proceedings. He didn’t cower before Stephen Harper’s intellect or political skills, either, and not many Canadian politicians can say that."

“There's some Liberals that want to vote for the NDP, and they may take some votes and they will. It's a legitimate choice...”

“Harper and Layton have managed to make this look like a two-way race between them”

“The NDP is running a razor-sharp campaign.”

“It must be said that of all the major parties, the NDP is the one currently running something resembling a smooth campaign. It must also be said that they seem to understand how to poke fun at their opponents without coming off like complete jerks.”

“Harper's attacks on his opponents bordered on the ridiculous this week when he accused them of talking too much about a possible recession... Yet it was NDP leader Jack Layton who made the most sense when he suggested a review of how Canada's insurance companies, banks and other financial businesses operate.”

" An unscientific survey of the weekend punditocracy indicates the Liberal leader's bid to unseat the government is going nowhere fast. Far from challenging Stephen Harper, he's struggling to hold his own against Jack Layton."

-Kelly McParland, National Post online, September 15th.

“The latest numbers from Angus Reid show Jack Layton’s NDP really in a dog fight with the Liberals for second place… That poll shows the Liberals at 24% and the NDP has 21%, which is really a statistical tie. It’s a big deal”,

--CTV’s Dan Matheson and Rosemary Barton (September 11th, 2008)

"Quite frankly, I told Elizabeth I can't wait until there's no Green Party, because as long as there's a Green Party, the implication is that the Greens somehow have a stranglehold on this issue - they're the ones that worry about the environment and the other parties can worry about other things,"