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The three federal leaders debating at the Stampede on Thursday night made all sorts of references to Calgary, but failed to mention the most appropriate — long-lost Stampede Wrestling. There were moments when you wanted to consign the whole business to a famous grappler of those days, nicknamed the Toilet Bowl.

The debate featured a lot of shouting, including long periods when NDP Leader Tom Mulcair and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau virtually howled at each other.

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Conservative Leader Stephen Harper watched with the hungry shark smile that always made one former Conservative MP feel, when the PM directed it at him, “I’m gonna die.”

Harper has never had so many rest breaks in an election debate. In earlier campaigns, the vast majority of the fire was directed at him.

This time, the opposition leaders had to take down each other as well as Harper. That’s the kind of chaos a 30-30-30 split in the polls will inflict on viewers who might actually want to hear a statement or an answer.