Uncooperative

I'm not sure whether Stephane Dion was less principled than he claimed to be all along, or whether he's simply spent too much time around Cherniak-style hyper-partisans. But it's worth pointing out that Dion is closing the campaign by once again declaring that he'd rather keep Stephen Harper in power than deign to cooperate with the New Democrats.

Now, that's important in a couple of ways as Canadians decide who's best positioned to oppose and replace the Harper government. First, it effectively makes Dion the main obstacle to the united left which so many are now calling for, rather than somebody who can be seen as wanting to bring progressive Canadians together. And indeed, Dion's reason for refusing to consider a coalition suggests that anybody who opposes corporate tax giveaways isn't particularly welcome even within the Libs, let alone as another voice on the political scene.

Perhaps more importantly, though, it sends a strong signal that Dion doesn't plan to be any more effective in actually stopping the Harper agenda after the election than he has been through the last year. And for Canadians already seeing the effects of the Cons' governing philosophy at home and abroad, that should offer a strong reason to turn their support to a party which is looking to bring together Canada's left to counter the Cons, rather than playing up reasons to divide it.