Not a Good Week for Harper

The National Post coverage is continuing in its role as the unofficial house organ for the Harper Conservatives. Here is an election story today saying it was a good week for Stephen Harper’s campaign.


The National Post also uses a 5 day old Nanos poll result to "prove" its point. That makes Harper look like he is doing better than the current Nanos poll evidence would currently indicate.

The National Post’s discriminating framing the facts and being selective sampling of sections of the “truth” is the Harper modus. This political model is a clone of George Bush’s Rovarian cancer campaign tactics. Here is the current Nano poll results showing a very different gap between Harper and Dion.

How can the National Post support this good week conclusion when Harper lost the French debate and dropped dramatically behind the Bloc in polls. Harper trashed is own myth about supporting the Quebec Nation concept as he cut the heart and soul out of the policy pandering with arts and culture cuts at the same time.


Quebec's soft nationalists have decided Harper can't be trusted and they are returning to the Bloc en masse. Pundits are saying Harper has forfeited his hope for a majority with this shunning by Quebec voters because of his MISLEADING them. Ironically Liberal Ontario seems to be coming to Harper’s rescue as of late and B.C. is in play, so a majority is still possible.

As well the Ipsos Reid poll on the English debate shows that Harper won but with a performance rated significantly below expectations. Then there is the post debt shift shown in the running Nanos poll where Dion and May get a bounce and Harper starts to shrink.


The debates may be a game changer but not if Harper will win. Harper will win, barring a personal political disaster, which can always happen in the last 10 days. So presuming Harper will win the ballot question is do we Canadians trust him with the absolute personal power of a majority - or not.


That question will beg the next question. Who will be the best leader of the opposition to take Harper on and keep him honest and on his toes. The answer is obvious. Layton is a mere opportunist without much modesty in spite of the fact he has much to be modest about. May needs to be elected and when she beats Mackay she will humble the Conservatives, who obviously need it. She will be like Jimminy Cricket and the guiding conscious of the House of Commons.


The obvious strategic choice for leader of the opposition is Dion. His record as a parliamentarian has proven he has the best personal understanding and alignment with Canadian values. He also has the right stuff to stand up to the Harper bullying - even when it is personal and vicious.


Dion has a proven personal love and commitment to Canada. He championed the Clarity Act to ensure Canada stays together and the federalism is respected. He is a 21st century leader who can integrate economic, environmental and social policy together. He will ensure that we will not turn more American under Harper's reign. Remember his world leadership on Climate Change in Montreal a couple of years ago where he manged to bring the USA in line with Kyoto principles.

Dion won the French debate which surprised everyone. He was able to come into the Canadian living rooms n the English debate so we could get to know him personally. He was well accepted and connected with people.He showed us he was not the person pilloried in the nasty mean-spirited television attack ads that the Conservatives spent millions and months on to belittle Dion.