Harper's Tired Line

Confronted with troublesome poll numbers, Harper reverts back to his entire election campaign strategy, Liberal bashing:

CORNWALL, Ont. (CP) - Prime Minister Stephen Harper is lashing out at the Liberals as hopelessly divided and out of touch with ordinary Canadians, as his party suddenly finds itself in a dead heat with the leaderless Opposition...

"The Liberals are divided, they're divided on our policy in the Middle East, whether or not to support our troops in Afghanistan, they're divided on domestic issues. . . I'll say let the Liberals deal with their own divisions, because we have a government to run and things to get done."

I'm so tired of listening to this tripe. We are the strong and resolute, the Liberals divided and confused. Issues are complicated, opinions vary. When you peruse the various parties, which one most accurately reflects the "divisions" of the general population? Do 100% of people support or reject the war in Afghanistan? Does the Canadian population walk in lockstep on Israel? Debate is healthy, it is the cornerstone of democracy. Harper chides the Liberals for open debate on complex issues as though it a sign of weakness. In my mind, nothing takes less intellectual energy than simplistic black and white propositions.

It is time for the Liberals to turn this criticism around, because the Canadian reality supports the hand wringing. I want various viewpoints, this back and forth educates us all and leads to better decision making, as opposed to stubborn ideology that ignores rapidly changing events. Let Harper have the black and white because clearly most Canadians are firmly in the "shades of grey" camp.