Election talk (16)

edmundoconnor wrote:

People who actually think about this and want to attack the NDP are very probably annoyed by this whole episode. It distracts from criticizing the NDP's policies, and forces a whole newscycle to go through every single detail of 'the article'. It makes Jack the underdog; and it shows that the status quo is unnerved by the NDP's surge in the polls, and is willing to do anything in its power to stop them. Unless you're a lock-step Harperite, it causes a great deal of concern and doubt for voters who the Conservatives/Liberals thought they had locked up.

In other words, I agree with gyor.

It is worse then that because it will essentially run the clock out. It threw a bomb into the midst of the other parties counter campaigns against the NDP. Total chaos and possible damage to all the other parties. If it would have been a close race before it could tip the NDP over the edge and into victory. This brain fart has Rob Ford written all over it. Just a gut instinct.

In fact, the smear has generated sympathy for Layton and distracted voters from any coherent criticism of the NDP platform.  If it didn't sound almost too clever by half, one would almost think we'd leaked it ourselves.  (Except, of course, that there would have been no way of knowing for sure that the response would be what it was - and our professional campaign team are too smart to take such a risk.)

Frank Graves is hinting at some very surprising reults when he publishes tomorrow.

alan smithee wrote:

I wouldn't be surprised if it was the Liberals that were responsible for the leek (smear)

But it's a smear that would benefit the Cons as well.

I don't think there is necessarily partisan involvement, but if there was, I think the Liberals would do something like this because they have a habit of being sleazy. The Conservatives are viciuos, but they are more upfront about it, as when they flat-out accused the Liberals and NDP of supporting child pornography.