Angry in the Great White North

Just as the last federal election was rolling into the Christmas break, a controversy erupted. A Liberal backroom organizer name Mike Klander was caught comparing photos of NDP candidate Olivia Chow (who also happens to be the wife of NDP leader Jack Layton) and a Chow dog, with the caption "Separated at birth". These unfunny cartoons were posted on his blog.

Well, the furor cost Mike Klander his job, and if it weren't for the Income Trust Investigation and the Military Ad controversies that would follow, the Klander incident might have been better remembered. But it turned out to be a relatively small Liberal Party misstep compared to all the others.

As such, the Liberals would probably consider themselves lucky that it has been widely forgotten. There's no reason to dredge up that embarrassing incident.

So it is with some puzzlement (and some discomfort too, I might add) that I see this on Garth Turner's blog:

As you know, there’s an election about to pop in Saskatchewan. I realize how we both feel about Dippers. But I gotta tell ya, these NDP marketing guys are onto something. Chow. [a picture of a wolf in sheep's clothing] Recognize anyone?

OK, now what Garth Turner meant to write was "Ciao", which is Italian for goodbye.

But look at the elements of this post.

• Garth Turner writes in a sly confidence to Stephane Dion about their shared dislike of NDP people.
• Chow.
• Picture of a canine.
• The question asked, "Recognize anyone?"

Who am I supposed to recognize? The dog? Chow? NDP? Wait a second...

OK, my mind went straight back to Liberal Mike Klander trying to draw a connection between NDP candidate Olivia Chow and the image of a dog.

I mean, what else are you going to draw from this post?

Now I'm reminded of Mike Klander all over again.

And now so are you.

Being reminded of the Mike Klander debacle was not Garth Turner's goal.

This is why politicians shouldn't have blogs.