Stephan Dion - You don't get do-overs!

Dion is complaining again.

Harper initially responded to the interview by saying it proved Dion wasn't equipped to handle the current economic uncertainty, and that prime ministers don't get "do-overs."

On Friday morning, speaking in Brantford, Ont., Harper defended his response, dismissing claims it was a mean-spirited attack on Dion's English skills.

"I think the interview speaks for itself. Canadians can watch it. The issue is Mr. Dion's response on the economy," Harper said.

"Mr. Dion says that he has no plan for the economy other than a carbon tax and that's what the issue is in this election. Canadians are being asked to pick a prime minister, myself or Mr. Dion, and I think Canadians expect that you have a plan before you are elected, that your platform is not that you will develop a plan only if elected."

Harper has passionately railed against Dion's Green Shift carbon tax plan, calling it an "experiment" that would raise prices, damage investments and eliminate jobs.

The plan took a couple of hits from within the Liberal party on Thursday. Recently published comments from both Rae and deputy Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff suggested the Liberals might have to rethink the carbon tax if a deep global recession develops.

Later Thursday they released a joint statement of support for Dion.

Conservative Party -endorsement from a left-wing newspaper

The Globe and Mail has now offically endorsed Stephen Harper to lead Canada. This is impressive considering the usual contempt they have shown for the Conservative Party. Everyone is starting to find out that Stephane Dion is gaffe-prone, confused and generally not ready to lead a country especially after the Dion interview with CTV. Hello, Sarah Palin can you offer Dion some interview advice?

Globe and Mail endorses Stephen Harper

TORONTO, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Citing his ability to get "the big things right," the Globe and Mail's editorial board on Friday unenthusiastically endorsed Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Canada's Oct 14 general election.

The nation's second-largest newspaper began the endorsement with a list of what it says are Harper's two most worrisome personality traits: that he is a right-wing ideologue and that he is possessed of a mean-spirited and controlling nature.

"But despite these personality traits, Mr. Harper has governed moderately and competently for nearly three years," the newspaper said. "He has not taken the country in dangerous new directions or significantly eroded the capacity of the government to act."

"On balance, Mr. Harper remains the best man for the job in the tough times now upon us," the newspaper said.

Harper's government, struggling to protect Canada's economy from a deepening global financial crisis that has hindered businesses and consumers from getting loans, has launched a plan to boost banks' ability to extend credit by buying up C$25 billion in high-quality mortgage assets. It has also welcomed a deep interest rate cut by the Bank of Canada this week.

The Globe and Mail said Harper's main rival, Liberal leader Stephane Dion, is a "man of great integrity and tremendous courage" but is not up to the task of leading the country.

"If you want to meet the most inflexible head of a major political party, Mr. Dion takes it in a cakewalk," the newspaper said.

Dion is proposing a carbon tax to cut greenhouse gas emissions -- the cost of which he says would be offset by income tax cuts. Harper says the tax will trigger a recession.

With just four days before the election, the ruling Conservatives have maintained a lead in the polls. (Reporting by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Frank McGurty)

Current Canadian Election Predicitions.

click link for updates

Looks like the Conservatives are holding on to a minority. This website has been fairly accurate.
As of Oct 10 @ 11:50AM

Conservatives: 118
Liberals: 77
N.D.P. : 29
Bloc : 47
Other: 2
Too close to call: 35

Republican flip-flops

As mentioned earlier; Michelle Malkin is quite the fanatical Republican supporter. She has been very supportive of the McCain campaign since he won the nomination. Interestingly enough she was critical of his behavior in the past in a negative way.

link to Michelle Malkin article in Jan/08

After spearheading a disastrous, security-undermining, illegal-alien amnesty bill last year with Teddy Kennedy, “straight-talking” GOP Sen. John McCain claims he has seen the light. In TV appearances, he vows to put immigration enforcement first. On the campaign trail, he offers a perfunctory promise to strengthen border security and emphasizes the need to restore Americans’ trust in their government’s ability to defend the homeland.

“I got the message,” he told voters in South Carolina. “We will secure the borders first.”

But how can McCain cure citizens’ distrust when his own credibility on the issue remains fatally damaged? He doesn’t believe his own election-year spin. And he knows we know it. This is cynicism on steroids with a speedball chaser.

link to Glenn Beck article

GLENN: It is something that most of America doesn't know and when you hear the facts laid out before you about John McCain, it should make your blood boil. Whether it will or not, I don't know, but it should

GLENN: Okay, I want you to lay it -- two pieces of audio, one from John McCain being asked about it and then another piece of audio from the gentleman that is now working with him. So you tell me the best time to play it while you explain what he's doing right now behind everybody's back.

MALKIN: Sure. Well, last month I received a tip from a concerned reader and she had listened to John McCain speak to the Hispanic Republicans in Nevada at a conference and apparently at this conference McCain was trying to tout his connection to a man named Dr. Juan Hernandez who has been named the national director of Hispanic outreach for the McCain 2008 campaign. This reader of mine was appalled when she learned of this hire and it had exactly the opposite effect that apparently McCain wanted it to have. This was supposed to be reassuring to Hispanic Republicans that this guy had been hired as outreach.
McCAIN: He's on my staff because he supports my policies and my proposals and my legislative proposal to secure the borders first, that no one will receive Social Security benefits who is in this country illegally. I don't know what his previous positions are, other previous positions are but he supports mine. I have nothing to do with his. And he has volunteered to help me with outreach to our Hispanic citizenry as that is his reach as I outreach to every citizen in America. I've made very clear my position on immigration, made very clear on my position on Social Security and, of course, I am grateful that we have so many people who came from Ireland to the United States of America and anybody else who can come here legally under the right system and that's the only system that I would ever support and I have no idea but I will check into the information you've given me. But I want to promise you I will secure our borders. I will not allow anyone to come here illegally. I will not allow anyone to receive Social Security or any other benefit because they have come here illegally and broken our laws.

GLENN: Okay. That's John McCain. Now, it's so disingenuous to say he doesn't know who this man is or his policies. This is a guy who used to work for Vicente Fox. He is the most open border guy you could possibly imagine. Here's just one clip of Juan Hernandez, and we've got tons of them and we'll be playing them over the next few days. Here's just one clip of Juan Hernandez on TV.

HERNANDEZ: I don't think that we need to build walls to control immigration. We are the 21st century now and we're a country that has always broken down walls. Once again with regard to securing the borders, we need to work with Mexico. We're never going to have a secure border. We're not going to put a wall up for these hundreds and hundreds thousands of miles. We have to work with our neighbors. We need to think now for the future. Canada, the United States and Mexico as a block.

MALKIN: The guy does not believe in borders. He is a senior fellow at something called the Reform Institute which is a think tank that John McCain founded and it has come under scrutiny by the mainstream media because it underscores John McCain's hypocrisy not just on open borders but also on campaign finance because he's used his supposedly nonpartisan, nonprofit thinking to solicit donations from big donors who he then goes and crusades for while he's sitting on Senate committees. At this reform institute which is in part funded with George Soros money, Juan Hernandez was in charge of leading the lobbying campaign for John McCain's amnesty effort last year. And this reform institute also sponsored an art contest for students where they spent their time demonizing the border. And you can go and look. I linked this on my website, to all of the art that compares the walls our borders and our border fences to the Berlin wall which keeps people in instead of walling people out to prevent invasion, to prevent undermining our sovereignty, to prevent encroaching of our laws. And for McCain to have the gall to stand there and tell that voter in Florida who, by the way, learned about this Juan Hernandez thing by looking at our research on the Internet, for him to say that he supports securing the border first when he's got a guy outreaching to illegal aliens to persuade them to make John McCain President? It's more than nauseating. I have an ulcer.

GLENN: Michelle, I mean, I don't think -- I just don't think I have ever seen, well, at least on the GOP side I don't think I have seen anything more insidious than this kind of stuff. I mean, this is Bill Clinton insidiousness. This is somebody who is taking and wrapping themselves around an issue and trying to convince the American people that he's doing one thing and he is doing exactly the opposite behind our back.

There is a lot more in the article taking about Jerry Perenchio who is the billionaire founder of Univision and is a national campaign co-chair of John McCain. Perenchio has given tons of money to Planned Parenthood. A program that should be a real sore point for strong Conservatives.