Damage done

Plenty of Libs seem to be rightly concerned about the effect of the combination of backtracks, leaks and/or general incoherence on the Libs as a party. But it's worth pointing out that the damage caused by the Libs goes much further than just the party itself.

After all, the Libs have also provided the political press with ready-made stories fit into narratives which effectively write themselves. Based on the natural media tendency to grab the low-hanging fruit, the Libs' machinations have then served to distract attention from plenty of substantive issues which could otherwise have found their way into the public eye, to say nothing of the Cons' misdeeds in office (which surely need to be highlighted for the Libs or any other party to put an end to Harper's reign).

Even if the Libs were going to keep propping up Harper, there isn't any particular reason why they should want to allow their weaknesses and internal disagreements to become the predominant story in the process. But it's hard to see how a party wanting to allow its own turmoil to become a dominant political theme could do better than the Libs have over the past year-plus - and Canada's political scene as a whole is losing out just as much as the Libs' image as a result.