The Liberals make lousy farmers

An article in the Wall Street Journal the other day talked about how the Bush campaign is planting the seeds for defining John Kerry on their terms. Kerry's still a bit unknown in America, and Americans are trying to figure him out. With a few subtle negative ads and a few well-aimed quips, they're painting a picture of the candidate they want to fight the election with. I think the nickname 'Flipper' is going to stick.

The Liberals are lousy farmers. Instead of planting the seeds and letting their image of Stephen Harper grow in the minds of voters, they've decided to just tell Canadians how to interpret him. Tory defector Scott Brison has been put forward as the hatchet man to tell Canadians that the party has "been taken over by the far-right-wing, extremist pirates". And in case Canada's reporters were not up to the task, the Liberals have helpfully provided a list of "controversial" quotes Harper has made in the past 10 years.

Will it work? Can the Liberals make the public believe that candidates for the Conservatives have white robes and hoods in their closets? Well, it worked before with the Reform and the Alliance parties. In the last couple of elections the vote was not so much for the Liberals as in fear of the new Brownshirts that threatened the Dominion. But before, this perception of Reform and the Alliance had already been planted in the voters' minds by events. All they had to do was nurse it a bit and it grew. This time I get the feeling they're trying too hard. We'll see how it works out for them.