On jiu-jitsu

Little noticed in Jack Layton's interview with Peter Mansbridge is a nifty little inoculation against the Libs' inevitable late-campaign strategy:

In an interview with CBC chief correspondent Peter Mansbridge, Layton said the difference between his NDP and the Liberals is that his rivals have been in power.

"They were [in power], and they broke their promises," Layton said. "We have yet to be in power. We're making some commitments, and we've got a strong record of delivering on what we say we're going to do in minority parliaments. And now we'd like the opportunity to do it as the leader of the governing party."

Needless to say, the Libs don't figure to have much left in their quiver other than to say it's pointless to vote for any other party based on their standing as a past government.

But Layton's message looks to nicely turn that contrast into a positive for the NDP - painting the Libs as part of the broken Ottawa which the NDP is looking to fix, while noting the upside of a party which can come to power with a clean slate. And that in turn only serves to complement Layton's challenge to any effort to narrow down voters' choices.

Not that it should be too much surprise that Layton has been able to develop an increasingly effective response to a tactic he's dealt with in four election cycles as NDP leader. But it's particularly noteworthy that he's going on the offensive in pointing to a new start as a plus for swing voters and for Canada - and that push may be just what the NDP needs to keeping building on its successful campaign so far.