Good News from Up North! (or technically, down south from here in Detroit)......

:applause:



Harper at Risk in Canada Vote as Stewardship Pitch Backfires

By Theophilos Argitis

Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper made his ability to steer the country through troubled economic times the cornerstone of his re-election campaign. Suddenly, that strategy is coming back to bite him.

Harper, who has dropped to a virtual dead heat with Liberal opposition leader Stephane Dion in some polls, yesterday pointed to the Bank of Canada's decision to cut interest rates as ``timely and significant,'' portraying the move as part of a broader effort by his government to stabilize markets.

``It's ironic that the platform was based on sound economic management and this appears to be where he's most vulnerable,'' said Jonathan Rose, a political science professor at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

The Conservative Party leader on Sept. 25 pledged to keep a ``steady hand on the wheel,'' yet now finds himself trying to dispel concerns he's not reacting to the crisis. With Canadian stocks tumbling, voters are looking for a stronger response and turning to rival parties, said John Wright, a pollster with Ipsos Reid.

``He's trying to convey they are on top of it,'' Wright said from Toronto. ``People are genuinely looking for signals and I don't think they see them yet.''

The Conservatives were 27 seats short of a majority in Canada's 308-seat Parliament when elections were called on Sept. 7, meaning Harper's government needed rival parties' support to pass laws and stay in office. At the time, Harper said he wanted a fresh mandate to get around legislative gridlock. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aklz7vjG6ZL8&refer=home

Other countries know what to do with their Bush tools. Hopefully Americans will remember that next month.