HOW SHOULD THE TORIES MINIMIZE THE FALLOUT FROM THE PUFFIN GAFFE?
Rod Love
(former chief of staff to Ralph Klein): If there is one certainty about election campaigns, it is that every campaign at one time or another will have an over-eager volunteer or staffer do something stupid, not authorized, and embarrassing to the team. Sort of like saying Canadian parents would spend daycare money on beer-and-popcorn, if you know what I mean.
As these things go, the puffin animation was pretty minor, particularly because of the swift way that the piece was yanked, and an apology offered. Because just as sure as dumb things will happen, fast apologies will make them go away.
Scott Reid (former communications director for Paul Martin): In public, they should just shut up and take their licks. Mr. Harper has apologized. They've lost part of the day. The objective now is to ensure it doesn't eat up any more.
Take it from one who knows. When you screw up on the trail, all you can do is put your head down and suffer what's coming. In private, they obviously need to double-up oversight. The Conservatives set stratospheric expectations for the stainless steel efficiency of their campaign machine. Two misfires in two days falls far short of the standard they invited.
Gerald Caplan (former NDP campaign manager): They've done all they can by Mr. Harper quickly apologizing. The question is, is the apology heartfelt and what will they do now?
HAVE THE TORIES GENERALLY GONE TOO FAR IN THEIR ATTACKS ON STEPHANE DION? IS IT TIME TO TONE IT DOWN?
Love: The Puffin thing was a mistake. It was not an approved message, it was not part of the overall strategy. It was a one-off.
The Conservatives should continue to strongly try and define Mr. Dion as they are doing - rogue puffin appearances notwithstanding.
Reid: Yes. But the problem starts at the top. Mr. Harper practices a particularly brutish brand of politics. Remember the child pornography mess? If Harper's team is guilty of going too far and stooping too low, they come by the instinct honestly.
There may also be a strategic flaw in their approach. The Conservatives want to present a warmer, more wonderful Stephen Harper. A squeezy soft Gund of a guy. But they're running a parallel campaign that is pointed, personal and savage. So far, the one seems to be tripping up the other. If it continues, they'll have to question whether a dual track strategy is sustainable and which track they ought to abandon.
Caplan: Mr. Harper, as we keep being reminded, is very, very smart. He smartly learned the twin lessons of politics a la Karl Rove south of the border, where he'd really rather be. Those two lessons are be as dirty as you need to be and never to stop.
Mr. Harper has taken the low road to new depths in the past few years. He's the man who allowed his staff to accuse Paul Martin of being soft on child porn. He's the man who accused Mr. Dion of caring more for Taliban prisoners than Canadian soldiers. He's the one who's suggested that those who disagree with his Afghanistan policy are "traitors." This is the man who smeared a Liberal MP by insinuating his family was linked to terrorism.
Mr. Harper, like Richard Nixon and George W. Bush, harbours deep, unfathomable resentments that lead him to lash out in ways that are far beyond the usual Canadian standards of dirty play. This barely-constrained fury leads him to believe he's justified in saying anything to mortally wound his enemies - and in his eyes, he has enemies, not opponents.
