PM visit to White House 'risky'

[Spazito]

OTTAWA (CP) - Senior officials in Washington and Ottawa are working on a visit that could take Paul Martin to the White House a few days before a possible election call, The Canadian Press has learned.

That proximity to a potential election is prompting the prime minister to cautiously weigh U.S. President George W. Bush's invitation before accepting, sources say.

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Martin's senior political staff are divided over whether he should make the trip so close to a possible election call.

Some have cautioned the prime minister that Bush's unpopularity with Canadian voters makes a visit to the White House a political risk.


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http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2004/03/07/374051-cp.html

[BOSSHOG]

1. So Kerry's "bombshell" has legs

rightwing nut neanderthals will couch Kerry's comments about foreign leaders wanting to oust bush as anti-american. I suggest the resident step to the microphone and explain to the American people why foreign leader(s) want to avoid being seen with him. He will, of course, lie. But his lies are what keep the base happy. Keep bombing Senator Kerry. bush's white house is a target rich environment, especially when your arsenal is the truth.

[Spazito]

2. As a supporter of Martin, I would vehemently advise him to stay away!

Bush is poison, the majority of Canadians despise him and Martin is facing a scandal at home that he needs to take care of. Meeting Bush now will do nothing for him and a great deal of potential harm. Kerry has it right, imo, and should keep hammering about the harm Bush has done internationally.

[BOSSHOG]

3. The POTUS should be a world leader

One "Leadership" quality is that people want to be around you. They want to seek your guidance and counsel. They turn to you for leadership. bush is a total failure, Senator Kerry has pointed that out and the lemmings keep on following the moron. I guess they want to be led where bush is taking them.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

4. Martin is in enough trouble as it is.

I can't see him wanting to add to it.

[Spazito]

5. Exactly!

Martin will not get any votes from the Alliance (laughingly called the New Conservative Party) supporters if he goes and he could well lose votes to the NDP if he does. It's a no brainer, imo.

[Minstrel Boy]

6. He's lost votes to the NDP whether he goes or not.

Witness the Liberal family bloodletting during the weekend nomination meetings. The rejection of Sheila Copps - symbolic defeat of "Chretien liberalism" by Martinite neo-liberalism - makes bad optics. The NDP couldn't have scripted it better. We get Copps' flirting with the NDP, without needing to deal with the baggage of her actually running for us. And we get the chance to appeal to disaffected small-L Liberals who are feeling abandoned by their party.

Just listen to Chretien hack Warren Kinsella, interviewed by the Hamilton Spectator:

"I don't know what I'm going to do. But it's really disappointing. It doesn't feel like the Liberal party any more."

Kinsella said the loss of the party's left-wing champion creates "a very real risk of losing (the Liberals') socially progressive group now and I count myself among them."

The nomination, he added, was "about more than Sheila. It's a message to a lot of other people as well that we don't need you. So, right, people may drift off to other parties ... or they may just sit at home and sit on their hands.

"How is a party, weeks away from an election potentially, supposed to pull itself together when there are public bloodlettings happening like this on a regular basis?"
http://www.rabble.ca/babble/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic&f=25&t=000660

[Spazito]

7. Yeah, that was pretty ugly alright!

I suspect the end result will be the Liberals win with a very small majority and my hope is that the NDP takes over as the opposition. The reason I give the Liberals the slight edge is that their polls have leveled out which indicates the scandal has played out.

[Minstrel Boy]

8. The Conservatives won't have a free ride after March 20,

when they select a leader. Or, "leader." Then, they'll stop being all things to all disgruntled voters.

Dream scenario: Belinda on second ballot. Martin calls an election before she gives her acceptance speech, and Layton starts moving into Stornaway. :evilgrin:

[Spazito]

12. Re: the conservatives, I agree, it is a no-win for them, imo

If they choose Harper, which I suspect they will, it will just cement the knowledge that there was no merger re Conservative party, it was a takeover.
If they choose Clement, the Liberals have a raft of stuff from when he served with the Ontario government
They will not choose Belinda because: a) she is a woman and b)she is a front for the Mulroney cabal

[Screaming Lord Byron]

18. also for Belinda c) she doesn't understand politics

and is happy to let her backers do the understanding for her.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

13. Actually, there's no bad result for us in the Tory Leadership Election

If anything, the worst result would be for Tony Clement to win, because he hasn't been defined negatively (outside of Ontario) in the way Harper and Stronach have been, and the guy has a pretty sharp wit with very solid debating skills. Of course his weak spot is his resemblance to Woody Allen.

[Minstrel Boy]

14. Clement is the one who would worry me the most.

But he'll place third, and need to drop off after the first ballot. (If I understand the rules correctly.)

Stronach tied Harper in a national poll last week of preferred Conservative leaders. That doesn't reflect Conservative delegates, but it could impact their decisions. The question is, as John Ibbitson said today, who's the second choice of Clement supporters.

Still pulling for Belinda here. She would mean the hilarious end of the "united right."

[Noon_Blue_Apples]

9. did you guys see the NDP ad this weekend?

I think it was during the raptor game I saw it

I like , I like

Martin the shipping tycoon vs. the little guy.

sweet
B

[Minstrel Boy]

11. Saw one during the Oscars last week.

They can be viewed here, too:

http://www.ndp.ca/audiovideo/?language=english

I live in Layton's riding, and the Danforth already has several huge - and very tastefully designed - Jack billboards. A softer tone of orange, and good use of green.

It must be a bummer being Dennis Mills these days.

[Kolesar]

10. What bombshell are you referring to?

This sounds believable: "foreign leaders wanting to oust bush as anti-american"

[Lisa]

15. gee, imagine if Bush insists on arranging a BBQ with singing cowboys ...

... as he reportedly did for Putin's visit.

Can you imagine? One clip of Paul Martin singing "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" with the Texas Souffle (like Mulroney and Reagan) -- and Canada's collective scream would be loud enough to blow out windows in Crawford. "This Hour Has 22 Minutes" would have a field day.


Oh, and it would be "Prime Minister Jack Layton" after that, guaranteed.

[sandnsea]

16. This is so embarrassing

A visit with the President of the United States could cause harm to a Canadian PM. Good god. Canada, we're so goddamn sorry. And people want to vote Nader. Keerhist.

[freeforall]

17. If Paul Martin has any brains, and wants to continue

being our Prime Minister, he'll stay as far away from * as possible. When Kerry gets elected, then he can go visit!