A campaign is made up of days. Some you win. Some you lose. If you win more than you lose, you should win the campaign. This blog will track the winner of the day for the duration.
Day 6 Winner: Conservatives
It was a funny day today, matching the weather in Toronto. Dull, cloudy and uncertain. All the parties went low risk with their central campaigns today, each nursing wounds or giving the Conservatives more room for another gaffe. But things were actually quite static overall, giving it to the Conservatives who needed a day to retool and calm down.
The Liberals lost another candidate in Quebec to thoughtless remarks about native Canadians in Oka era. The actions in and of themselves speak more to organizational disarray in la belle province, than to some sudden shift in the ideological composition of the Grit coalition. Dion's decision not to emphasize the economic appeal of the Green Shift, in favour of its environmental benefits, is leaving candidates stuck playing duelling calculators with Tories. A Liberal candidate compared Stephen Harper to a pig in lipstick; clearly not a devoted follower of the Obama-Palin grudge match down South. Nice opportunity for Harper to play the victim.
The Conservatives are seeing some strong polling numbers, which help momentum, volunteers and fundraising. Harper played against type and accused the gas companies of gouging consumers. Asking to delay a lawsuit against the Liberals because the election you called is getting in the way is a little too cute. But Cadman's widow is staying mum about the whole thing. But the winning move was bolding declaring a Conservative government will increase foreign investment. Trying to wedge the Liberals while putting wind into the NDP's sails is just smart tactical politics.
The NDP would have gotten decent play on the regulation of gas prices, except Harper moved in and stole their lunch. Sure he didn't provide details, but they call it the "news" not the "repeat a policy committment from your 1974 platform." And this is no way to win votes in Ontario: promise Newfoundland $10 billion more in equalization payments. The autoworkers in Windsor and the miners in Sudbury will love that.
Gilles Duceppe continues to tilt at windmills. " Buy Canadian"? Whaaaaat?
The Greens communications director apologized for his libel-chill at a blogger. But May's biggest story today was confirming there is no deal between the Greens and Liberals other than in each party's leader's riding. Her press has dropped off a lot since she got in the debate.
Hat tip to National Newswatch for a lot of these stories today.