It is the New Year. The "real" campaign begins today. With the polls now turning in the Conservatives the Liberals are pretending that they've got the Conservatives right where they want them.
...The Liberals adopted a strategy of keeping much of their powder dry before the Christmas holidays, and strategists now say they will have more money for advertising — as much as a $2-million advantage. And, the Liberals say, they have policy initiatives to announce when the campaign is attracting more attention.
BTW, is "powder dry" an official campaign term? I mean, are columnists required to use this term or could they be orginal and come up with something different? Just asking.
...The Conservatives, meanwhile, intend to keep making daily policy announcements, but they concede that with big-ticket planks such as a GST cut or $1,200 child-care payments to families, many of them will be "re-announcements" of policies the Conservatives adopted months ago. One insider said the party has one or two fresh "headline-grabbing" planks left.
I am still hoping that income-splitting is one of those headline-grabbing planks.
Update: The Liberals have a couple of news ads. They are pretty good. The have managed to take their shots at the Conservatives without being overtly negative. The actually taught Paul Martin how to smile without looking like a goof as well.
