Be careful - when you wrestle with a pig!

My only word of caution in the current constitutional crisis unraveling in Ottawa would be offered to Mr. Dion. "Be careful! When you wrestle with a pig, remember he enjoys it but you both get covered in mud!"

Otherwise, full steam ahead!

The proposed motion that Dion has put out on the wires this afternoon for consideration on Monday: his first Opposition Day, is a triumph of intellect over the vitrolic, partisan poison contained in Harper's financial outlook. Hopefully the NDP and the Liberals with the quiet support of Duceppe and the Bloq can form a coalition that will last for several months if not years. Thereby providing the kind of leadership that Canadians wanted from this past election.

'Course we'll all be listening intently at Harper's news conference (again with no questions) as he tries to squirm out of the mess he's made and lay the blame squarely at Dion's feet.

Maybe Harper will fall flat in the mud! And Dion can sidestep any splashes of mud while marching into the House on Monday with a coalition government alongside like-minded NDP and Bloq colleagues.

I didn't hear "the fat lady sing" on election night, maybe Harper should have been paying attention and ruled with a more conciliatory tone toward the majority in opposition!

UPDATE: The pig has spoken, and as I suspected, lays the blame at Dion's feet. Look forward to a strong response. Harper has put off the Opposition Day til December 8th, giving Canadians a chance to contact their opposition MPs, NOW.

TorStar backs Dion

After carefully presenting their reasons, the editorial board has chosen Stephane Dion as the prime ministerial candidate to best serve the interests of Canadians.

To belittle is to BE little!

Harper has sunk to new depths of desperation by drawing attention to three takes of Stephane Dion asking for clarification on a poorly worded question. Given that Harper has been in hiding from facing media scrums, public town halls or even talking to Canadians, he has NO credibility on this. In fact, he's shown himself for the mean-spirited bully he is.

Many bloggers (here, here, and here) are on the same story tonight. I truly believe this is identical to the situation in 1993 when Conservatives drew attention to Mr. Chretien's facial paralysis. And Harper needs to be called on it. 

This calling out does appear to be happening a little bit but I believe a full bore national expression of disgust for Harper's bullying ways is the only solution.

Prime Minister Dion, sounds better every minute!

UPDATE:

some further thoughts:

Clearly Harper, in his very first unscheduled, unscripted media encounter in this campaign, stepped out to take a jab at the one opponent with a shot at forming government. It was a low blow and didn't relate to policy in the middle of a financial crisis. Then he stepped back behind the RCMP protection and continued with his flight. Says more about Harper than Dion. Says he's so hungry for power that he would ignore the concerns of Canadians to take a jab at his opponent.

Mr. Dion on the other hand, I believe, clearly understood the question to be a trap set by the journalist who clearly refused to reword the question. There was no good way to answer the question. Mr. Dion makes every effort to do this. He doesn't obfuscate when addressed by the media, he tries to understand the question and provide an answer with integrity.

If Dion had answered with integrity, he knew he would say that he would not have cut the GST and would have cut the income taxes instead. He also knew he didn't want that clip picked up and played over endlessly by the Conservatives right at this moment. Why, you ask, well with the visibility of the GST cuts, they have been mildly popular with the voters (that's why Harper did it, after all) who aren't paying much attention or do not understand economic issues.

In my opinion, Dion avoided saying "I would not have cut the GST" and have that be the last meme played for the last four days of the most important election for a progressive Canada. And he avoided being dishonest. I'd say, personally, that he is brilliant.

Personally, I didn't need any further evidence that Mike Duffy adds little to nothing of value to any discussion of importance BUT this little misadventure sure has exposed him to far more Canadians for the shill he is.