Nothing doing

There was never all that much doubt that the Cons' attempt to run on a nonexistent plan to deal with impending financial doom could be taken as a signal of the party's lack of anything useful to offer. But Harper's attempt to try to deal with that problem today goes even further than I'd expected in showing just what kind of do-nothing party they're dealing with:

Mr. Harper said the government is watching "very carefully" to see if the U.S. financial crisis, and the aftershocks it is unleashing worldwide, will have any "rebound effects" on the Canadian economy.

"We're putting some secondary plans in place if that becomes necessary," the prime minister told reporters. Asked what those plans might be, he said later in French that the government is considering proposals to help the banking system.

The prime minister did not provide details on what that would involve, but his chief spokesman later clarified that the Conservatives aren't considering any major intervention in the banking system, or an emergency fiscal stimulus package to boost the economy.

Rather, they are looking at "routine" options that have come up in the government's regular meetings with Bank of Canada officials, he said.

"We're not talking about something larger or a policy change here. This is more routine and technical," spokesman Kory Teneycke said.

Last week, the Bank of Canada doubled the amount of money it makes available to Canadian banks to encourage them to lend to individuals and businesses. It appears the Conservatives are considering more liquidity-pumping options along these lines, although the Bank of Canada would have the final say on such moves.

That's right: Harper's plan in the event of a crisis is to give serious consideration to the possibility of suggesting that somebody else should think about taking action. And the Cons apparently expect Canadians to believe that such a lack of interest in doing anything somehow makes Harper uniquely well-suited to deal with risks to their financial security.

Of course, the Cons seem to have managed to confuse the issue enough that today's headlines don't match reality. But it shouldn't take long for their slide in the polls to accelerate once voters realize that the Cons' "steady hand" is really nothing more than rigor mortis.