Hudak PCs scramble

Following that Ipsos poll showing his party losing whatever lead they had – principally, I’m told, because of voter concerns about a “hidden agenda” on abortion and a Conservative cabal running all three levels of government – Ontario PC leader Tim Hudak has come off his vacation early, and hastily scheduled a presser for a Friday afternoon.

Cutting short a holiday? Friday afternoon press conferences? It’s all consistent with what we’ve been hearing: the tall foreheads in the Hudak-Hillier PCs are panicked that they peaked too soon, and that abortion and the Harper-Hudak-Ford Trifecta stuff is hurting them, big time.

Have a great press conference, Tim! We’re rooting for your continued weaselly leadership!


Political line of the season

From a  quick-witted Ontario Liberal staffer, about this:

TORONTO – Andrea Horwath wants a little elbow room for cyclists.

“We think that that’s a simple measure that if there’s a cyclist on the road, it’s incumbent on the motorized vehicle to stay away by a metre from that cyclist,” the New Democratic Party Leader said Thursday.

“So if that means that you have slow down and wait until you can safely be a metre away from the cyclist, then that’s what you need to do,” she said. “We have to get serious about making sure that people can safely ride bicycles in this province.”

Horwath said if elected on Oct. 6, her party would change the Highway Traffic Act so that motorists would be fined for crowding out two-wheeled traffic.

But how police would enforce such a rule on packed and narrow roads wasn’t entirely clear.

Personally, I’m not quite sure how this one is going to go down in Timmins or Bancroft.

But one Lib staffer had the best line of the Summer:

“The Ontario NDP want motorists to move far to the left – and voters, too.  But they won’t!”

 


The Blackberry 9900

I’m thumbing this on the new Berry 9900. Got it for myself for my birthday.

Here’s your wk.com review, gratis:

1. It’s the lightest and thinnest Berry yet.
2. The screen is bigger and sharper.
3. The OS is, as advertised, much faster.
4. The touch-screen feature is awesome. Easy to adjust to.
5. I don’t like the track pad, but the touch screen makes that irrelevant.

Bottom line? Will it save RIM? Beats me.

Is it worth getting? Yes.


So, to all my Conservative commenters who told me Dalton is toast…

…or that abortion “isn’t an issue,” or Harper’s “hat trick” speech was no biggie, what do you say now?

In a flash sample poll conducted last weekend on 400 decided voters, Ipsos Reid found that the gap between Hudak and McGuinty continues to narrow. Of those polled, 38% say they would vote for Hudak and the Conservatives if an election were held tomorrow, while 36% would stick with McGuinty and the Liberals.

And:

Those surveyed also believed McGuinty only fared better than Hudak in one leadership quality: someone who has a hidden agenda. The premier garnered 46% in this area, while Hudak came in at 35%, Horwath at 14% and Schriener at six per cent.

This was a large improvement for McGuinty who dropped 10 points in this poll compared to when the same question was asked last year, according to Ipsos Reid.

My, my. If you don’t mind, I think I will continue to pay attention to Tim Hudak’s dishonesty on reproductive choice – and on his desire to have the same political party run the GTA, the country as well as the province.

My, my.


Memo to PMO

Dear PMO:

So, does this rule apply to your Prime Minister, who came to Toronto a few days ago to call for a Conservative Party “hat trick” – so that the same Conservative cabal is running Canada, Canada’s largest city, and Ontario, too? Does the rule apply to him, as he tries to influence the outcome of the Ontario election?

Sincerely,

Warren

P.S. Here’s the “Conservative political dynasty” video evidence you tried to scrub from the Internet, PMO, in case you need reminding – you know, the “hat trick” stuff.


In today’s Sun: Bruno’s story

If you are Canadian, and if you have been to Toronto, the chances are pretty good you’ve been here. You might have even seen him.

He’s Bruno the barber.

Wayne Gretzky has been here for a haircut. Darryl Sittler, too. A framed photo of the famed Leafs captain is on the wall, by the single sink. “Go Leafs!” he wrote.

For 50 years, Bruno Villanova’s been here in Union Station, Canada’s crossroads. His barbershop is between the washrooms, not far from gate 3. If you’ve been here, you’ve seen it.

Every town has a guy like Bruno. Less than 20 bucks for a cut. Not bad.

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…and, just in case you thought the Ontario NDP weren’t dumb, too (updated)

Check out this, from Ontario MPP Cathy Crowe’s Twitter page:

What’s the big deal, you ask?

Well, “Cathy Crowe MPP” isn’t an MPP.

Perhaps it escaped her notice.  You know, that she wasn’t elected and all.

Or, perhaps, she’s taking cues from her leader’s moral gymnastics on the HST – you know, lying in ads about swiftly getting rid of the HST, when her platform makes clear that she’ll do no such thing.

Ontario’s NDP: where even the truth gets airbrushed.

UPDATE: wk.com gets results, folks!