On trusted leaders

If figures that even when a poll offers good news for the NDP, the surrounding commentary still manages to slam the party:

(T)he Decima Research poll suggests Layton is considered the most decent, charismatic, ethical, caring and practical of the main party leaders on offer in the Jan. 23 election.

Respondents found Layton to have the best sense of humour of the group and to be the leader who best shares the concerns of Canadians.

Indeed, on a list of 18 personal attributes, Layton comes out on top in 10. Among undecided voters, he comes out on top in 14.

Based on that data, the Star applies a title suggesting that voters "like Layton, not the NDP"...even while noting that a good chunk of the Con and Lib numbers are based more on strategic voting than on any dislike (or lack of like) for the Dippers generally.

In fact, the results aren't an indication of limitations on the NDP's potential to connect with voters so much as they show that the party as a whole hasn't been able to do so yet. There's a huge opportunity available to the NDP if it can show it has more candidate depth than people know now...but also a risk of losing out on a huge advantage from having the most popular leader in the country.

Hopefully the acknowledgement of Layton's positive qualities will lead more people to take a closer look at the party behind him...and the media won't go out of its way to ignore the facts when people like what they see.