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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."

Provides excerpts from the personal papers of former Alberta premier Peter Lougheed, presenting his version of events in Canadian politics in the 1980s which led to the Constitution Act of 1982. Negotiations between the provinces and prime minister Pierre Trudeau; Premier Rene Levesque and Quebec nationalism; The meeting of premiers in 1981, the so-called Night of the Long Knives, that Levesque missed.