After watching the never ending televised cage match that was Hillary Clinton vs Barack Obama and bearing witness to the media sensation that is Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, it's easy to believe that a Canadian election will fail to deliver the excitement, sexiness and sizzle of its American counterpart.

In much the same way that homegrown TV dramas are forced to compete with big budget American shows, the Canadian general election seems doomed to appear like a pale imitation of its American cousin. An election yes, but without the money for good lighting or decent car chases.

Personally I prefer our home grown race and I would argue our characters and plot lines are as good as or better than anything the Americans have to offer. Sure the stakes are a little higher in America. Whoever wins the presidential election inherits the launch codes to the nuclear bomb, whereas whoever wins our election inherits the keys to a drafty home on the Ottawa river; but in our election, like in the country itself, the fundamentals are solid.

In the United States voters are being asked to choose between the right and the left. It's a match between a bona fide American war hero who plays by his own rules and the first black presidential nominee in history who just happens to be one of the English language's greatest orators. The race in Canada is not that much different. We can compete.

Sure Prime Minister Harper was never actually tortured for six years in a Viet Cong prisoner of war camp like John McCain was; but he's angry enough that he could have been. In fact on a good day Harper seems way more angry than McCain ever does. Like with McCain there is pain and anguish in the man's eyes. McCain suffered at the hands of a hostile enemy bent on breaking his body and soul and he survived and triumphed. Stephen Harper, the story goes, suffered from onset adolescent asthma and so was often picked last for team sports. This helps explain his dislike for all people in general. He was also startled quite badly by a clown at the age of six which explains his lifetime commitment to destroying arts organizations.

In America presidential candidates spend a lot of time boring voters by telling them what they will do to improve their lives. Harper's message will be different and far more exciting. He will spend his time telling people "don't worry, no matter what happens I can't win a majority, so I won't be able to do all the things I want to do that clearly scare you." This is an "only in Canada" scenario.

Then there's Harper's main competition, interim leader of the Liberal party Stephane Dion. And while he may lack the oratory skills of a Barack Obama, there are similarities. People who watch Obama speak often report that they find themselves so inspired by his words they are driven to get involved in the political process for the very first time. Watching Dion give his victory speech at the Liberal convention I was inspired me to do something I had never done before: Google the phrase "how to immigrate to Paris."

Of course the real twist with the Dion character is his rumored inability to communicate in the English language. This is actually a Conservative lie. Stephane Dion can communicate just fine, it's just when he communicates we don't know what he is saying. If you visit his website there is a video of Mr. Dion explaining the green shift in eleven simple words. All pronounced properly. He says "it is very simple, you tax less, what you want more of." Like Obama, Dion is attempting to do politics differently. He eschews the easy to understand sound bite and instead chooses to speak in what seems like short ancient Japanese koans, or riddles. "And how will a green shift affect my bottom line?" a voter may ask. "What is the sound of one hand clapping" he might answer. Look forward to tension-filled awkward silences in the leaders' debates.

And let us not forget the supporting cast of characters that will do their own part to make this Canadian election exciting. There was a man on the news the other day by the name of Jack Layton. He was taking the bus. When asked why he was on the bus, he said he liked the bus. It was a good story.

And then there are the wild cards. Other than our Prime Minister there will be 307 Conservatives running in the next election. Will they be silent on all the issues or simply mute? Will they refuse to address any local concerns during the campaign or will they simply not be available for comment? Are they terrified of their leader or just alarmed in his presence? This is the stuff that will engage Canadians like never before.

In the Liberal Camp we have a host of political players that are true Canadian celebrities in their own right. Ignatieff, Rae, that woman who wears the scarves and the short guy whose name escapes me at the moment. Sizzle sizzle.

And in Toronto we will see the return of Gerard Kennedy for team Liberal. The man who is single handedly responsible for Stephane Dion winning the leadership in the first place wants his place in the sun. In Kennedy we have an almost eerie parallel of the controversy surrounding Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin who has been accused of having very little executive experience and yet may end up being a heartbeat away from the big job. Kennedy is seen by many in his immediate family to be Dion's natural successor in the unlikely possibility that he is stabbed repeatedly over and over again in the back by his fellow caucus members. Is Kennedy ready to run a major party or the country? In private life he ran a food bank. Which let's face it is very admirable but really how hard is that? You ask someone for food they give it to you; you put it on a shelf and let people take it home for free. Sure, put him in charge of everything.

All of this will make for a scintillating election. But those are just the personalities. Issues, as always, will define the thrust of the campaign as it progresses, and as of now it's simply too soon to tell what those issues will be. Also, nobody really knows how badly Canadians will react once they figure out all that money we had is now gone and the economy is shaky at best. By the sounds of it, Canada's books suddenly look like whoever's in charge has an internet gambling addiction.

So buck up Canada. A great drama is about to unfold and it's every bit as good as whatever's happening south of the border. All we need now is for the prime minister to walk across the street and dissolve parliament in the middle of his term. Something he looked us in the eye and promised us he would never do. See it's already sexy.