Apolitical Staples

Dead cat bounced? Wishful thinking? ;)

Dion can’t move Liberal numbers against a hapless performance by Canada’s New Government.

Bring on Bob Rae please.

Think about what’s happened in the last couple of months.

When the Tories were in full election mode, when they delivered their budget, and shortly after they attacked Dion as a weak leader, they were near the 40% mark in the polls.

In other words, when they had to be ready for an election, they were where they had to be in the polls.

Since then, with no agenda to speak of going into the summer, they’ve sagged — which is exactly when you want to sag.

Two things Harper wants to accomplish while in office: 1) Get people used to the idea that he can and will govern; 2) Get people used to the idea that he’s exactly who he said he is. No hidden agenda. No right-wing ideology. No anything too unexpected or controversial — except to the left, of course.

There ain’t no election happening — at least not that anyone can see — so there ain’t any reason for the government to lift one finger to boost poll numbers or mobilize support.

You show up when it’s time to show up.

Your timing is off, Dennis: the numbers dropped for them before the likelihood of an election vanished. The budget didn’t really get them close to 40%, and the attack ads on Dion didn’t unleash the precipitous drop in Dion’s support that some supporters seemed to hope for.

But you have a good point: I think one of the big things that is holding Conservative support back is the overeagerness of some Conservatives to go to the polls. If Harper holds it together, shows that he’s patient enough to govern in this situation until spring 2008, hinting that he’s a leader rather than a politician, the voters will be more open to voting for him. I wouldn’t be surprised if Harper crosses the 40% threshold near the end of this year.