All talk, no action

As if there was any doubt about the futility of the Cons' "just call Bush" stance on softwood lumber, the CP discusses the results of Martin finally making the call:

Martin spoke with Bush by phone Friday but they failed to make any progress on the softwood issue.

Neither leader budged from his original position during the 20-minute chat, officials said.

Bush maintained that he would prefer a negotiated settlement, said a spokeswoman for Martin...

During Friday's phone conversation, the two leaders also discussed the U.S. plan to drill for oil in an Alaska Arctic wildlife refugee - something Canada opposes.

Bush insisted he must move forward because his country needs the oil.

Unfortunately, the next time that Bushco genuinely listens to criticism and adjusts policy based on the public good rather than political considerations will be the first. From the sound of it, the call merely delayed the actions that actually could have some impact on U.S. policy (and the suggested PR blitz is certainly a good plan on that front). And to think this is pretty much the extent of the Official Opposition's ideas to deal with softwood lumber.

The good news is that there are other opposition parties around who have put forward much better ideas to deal with the dispute. We'll see whether Martin's next move is to start looking at serious action, rather than merely debating whether he should waste time by doing nothing at all or by making pointless phone calls.