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This article presents predictions for upcoming elections. British reporters covering Tony Blair's campaign in 2001 amused themselves by playing" battle-bus bingo": they wrote down Blair's favourite cliché phrases on strips of paper, paid a pound each to get into the contest, then each drew three strips of paper at random. Paul Martin rewarded this apple-cheeked British Columbia Liberal's bootlicking fealty with an appointment as the party's nominee in Burnaby-Douglas. Last week Peter Mansbridge's column announced that political leaders' tours are a waste of time, which is why the CBC will have its own bus travelling the country avoiding politicians. If Peter leads The National with more stories from the CBC bus than he does from Paul Martin's, Stephen Harper's and Jack Layton's, I'll buy him dinner.

Presents letters to the editor commenting on articles previously published in this magazine. Responses to the articles "Teen trouble," "Paper trail," "Gut-check time," "Why Quebecers feel especially betrayed," "They're so sorry [not]" and "Smooth reign," from the March 1, 2004 issue; Responses to the articles "The Lowdown on the low-carb diet wars" and "If at first you don't …," from the February 23, 2004 issue; Responses to "In the country of love," from the February 16, 2004 issue, Response to "Arms and the child," from the February 9, 2004 issue.

This article discusses Canadian prime minister Paul Martin's standing in his campaign for re-election as of June 2004. There was a moment in Paul Martin's news conference the other day in Vancouver when he paused and grabbed a paper clip that had held together his tightly scripted message. He twirled it in his fingers, pondering questions about a faltering campaign, then pushed aside his text and launched into a passionate declaration about using" every waking moment" in the remainder of the campaign to fight for what he believes to be right. There's irony in this because while Jean Charest, Dalton McGuinty and Gordon Campbell may campaign for Martin, deep down they're probably thinking their futures look better with a Conservative government to bash.Paul Martin's abyss moment may have arrived. The numbers are far from encouraging; some advisers look shell-shocked; and the media is questioning each move. But remember that oft-quoted Harold Wilson statement: "A week in politics is a long time."

This article proposes that Canada has ignored its military for too long, and that spending must increase in order to handle crises at home or abroad. There is probably no area where Paul Martin's problems are more pressing than defence. The military's basic strategy document, the 1994 White Paper, is predicated on the premise that we can relax now that the Cold War is over. And although no one knows the final bill for our one-year peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan--it ends this summer--it has almost certainly pushed the department over its $13.1-billion budget for 2003-2004. Prime minister Martin knows what he wants: the capacity to allow Canada to back its foreign policy with military force.