Missing the point

James Travers almost gets it:

Canada's current reality is that it has a Liberal prime minister who thinks like a conservative and is only kept from behaving more conservatively by public opinion and the fear of losing power. Instead of doing what he believes, Martin does what's politically expedient.

So far, so good. But Travers' apparent conclusion that the lack of difference between the two parties should result in a Con victory neglects the fact that the view of Canadians generally isn't in line with the Martin/Harper consensus. And it's the presence of another party which genuinely does agree with the Canadian public on the key issues that makes it both politically expedient and politically necessary for Harper and Martin to pretend to be more in tune with Canadians than they really are.