The 2000 general elections should not be fought on petty political ideas like the amount of time a man is out of the Country; we should try our best not to reduce Dominica's politics to gossip and personal destruction, instead, politics should focus on ideas like the proposed International Airport, Dominica's place in the ever changing global economy, employment, domestic savings , teenage pregnancy, education and agricultural diversification.

It's hight time that Dominicans demand clear solutions to the many problems that plague average man , from the leader who wish to take Dominica to another five years of its history.

Both prime minister Edison James and Rosie Douglas show some kind of ability to lead Dominica, however,the James administration has clearly proved that Good domestic policy is not enought to achieve an ecomomic growth that will turn Dominica's economy where it cater to the large amount of young people who are looking for jobs.

A leader who can maintain the local economy and at the same time can get as many nations of the world to help in the our development will surely be and asset to Dominica.

Dominicans will be given yet another time to make up thier minds as to who will lead in the next century. It will be by far the most important election since independence.

To quote P.M. James' own phrase, a "solid team" is necessary to effectively govern a country. No one leader can run Dominica unless he declares a dictatorship. And even then, he must lean heavily on a faithful and well-pampered miltary, from where all dictators' powers truly derive. The nuances of our present party leaders, therefore, ought not to determine the ability of any party to govern Dominica. These can be irritating at most, but certainly not significant.

The seat of power in any democratic government is always the Cabinet. The leader looks good only if his Cabinet provides intelligent and informed application to issues facing the country. Members of Cabinet, the Ministers, also rely on the Public Service for technical support to bring substance and relevance to issues. That is team work.

That presentation is truly worthy, paralleling the US's State of the Union address. I humbly propose that each year, at this celebration, there should be more like it. Even best, with minimal refinements or embellishment, let's make it a requirement, written into law. Why not?

In tone and in substance, Mr. James was at his best yet. He blasted a Herculean six to the very top of Morne Bruce. He spoke with particular poise, confidence and believability. And it showed. And not only did it show, it resonated with the massive crowd. The speech deservedly received the thunderous praise and applause by the Gardens crowd.

Fittingly, the Dominican statesman was magnanimous in his adulations. He rained praises upon those whose footsteps he dare to trod. He heaped accolades on Dame Charles. He invoked with sober, Dominican introspection, the name Oliver J. Seraphin. And Mr. James belted the name of the man, simple in stature yet indomitable on the Dominican scene - the name of Patrick R. John, whose vision it was that lead to the unfettering of our country from disabling, deliterious colonial rule.

In really Clintonian fashion the Prime Minister played well between the wickets. He stroked, cut, pulled, drove, guided and hooked. And he ran well, too. Mr. James embrassed Machiavelli's handbook, so it seems, on political philosophy. For he touched every one and yet angered no one. He subsumed his future in Dominican's future, invoking the phrase fellow Dominicans countless times.

He spoke on Dominica's material achievements, not withstanding its God-ordained difficult geography. The man spotlighted the vagaries of the "New World Colonialism" now at full steam, typified by the WTO's Trade talks in Seatle, Washington; the disabling decision of Carnival Cruise Lines, crying over peanuts, to end a ten year reationship with sister island state, Grenada; and the stunnig success against the Cable and Wireless communication monopoly, threatening to rape the region.

In the mold and form of the expectations of a fearless statesman, Mr. James used his bully pulpit to embrace the plight of the wider Caribbean, extolling the region's "holy matrimony," and labelling it "our extended family."

The esteemed Minister highlighted, to date, his teams' achievements on the Dominican landscape. He would be remiss if he didn't, I'd admit.

And the man challenged the whole land with the exigencies at hand. His vision for an improved Dominica calls for even bolder initiatives. Under the caption "The workers are working," Mr. James calls on every citizen, every sector to do its share in raising the Dominican standard. "We should declare the year 2000 as the Year of Hard work," would be the foregoing Dominican credo.

When all the lofty rhetoric dies, it seems that the Prime Minister of Dominica can be both classy and visionary. The man can hold his own. One wonders why not most of the time. Is it because he is hobbled by his seeming bondage to people of greater means in his party? There is a wisper making the rounds that the Minister's time as head of his party is up.

In our Westminister-styled reality, this could spell acute instability for smooth, legal transfer of "power." Again, I wonder if there is truth to that rumor. If the answer is yes, then we would have lost another great chance for genuine frontal direction.

Next time, Rosie Douglas and his wandering ways.