Day in review

The new Liberal ad released last night was just too funny. Apparently shot quickly in some hotel room, it features Martin talking to the camera and pleading for your vote with lines like “our government hasn’t been perfect, but we’ve tried our best”. If I didn’t know better I’d say we were watching his concession speech beamed through a wormhole from this time next week.

This guy just keeps getting funnier. All campaign long Martin’s been wearing a union made leather jacket which was a gift from CAW president Buzz Hargrove, and today he had it on while complaining about Jack Layton’s “political expediency”, and telling reporters that unless people voted for him they’d usher in a Conservative government just like Mike Harris’ in Ontario. He did this standing beside his candidate in Halton, Liberal MP Gary Carr, who was an Ontario MPP from 1990 to 2003 – Carr sat in Queen’s Park as a Conservative, and was elected under Mike Harris. Earlier today he stood beside Hargrove while the latter talked about his “anyone but Harper” election strategy – and proceeded to tell Quebec voters that they should all support the Bloc instead of the Liberals, because they had the best chance of winning. Martin also attacked the NDP and (in a campaign first!) the Green Party, telling their supporters that a vote for anyone but him would mean voting in the Conservatives. In response, Michael Oddy, leader of the Nova Scotia Green Party and former federal Green Party candidate, urged Green Party members to vote NDP, saying ‘We’re in a situation where climate change is running amok and therefore we need to do something soon, and we’re going to need some NDP MPs who are going to be holding these guys accountable.’ And as if this weren’t confusing enough, the Conservative candidate in Oshawa is handing out flyers with a photo of himself shaking hands with Hargrove, insinuating that he has the support of the union leader — who has taken every opportunity to tell Canadians that Harper is the antichrist in the frankest terms they’ll let you use on network television. (The photo is from a conference in Ottawa held a few years ago; Hargrove has never endorsed the Conservative party or any of its candidates.)

In Hamilton, Liberal cabinet minister Tony Valeri was grilled again about his July sale of his next-door neighbour’s bungalow to the son of a local businessman and long-time supporter. He had paid the appraised value three months before reselling it at a modest profit of 225%, but claims he wasn’t required to report the sale to the federal Ethics Commissioner because he bought it for “recreational” purposes.

While all this silliness was going on, Jack Layton made visits spanning four time zones today, including Edmonston NB, Quebec City, and Edmonton, since polls are saying we’re doing well in ridings in each of those. Whee! Monday should be fun.

Update: due to freezing rain the plane couldn’t make it to Quebec city, so for the second time this tour Layton addressed the assembled masses via speakerphone. This is yet another reason why we usually don’t hold our elections in the winter…