Dion's Speech Beset By Technical Woes

Source: The Canadian Press

Posted: 12/04/08 8:34AM

Filed Under: Canada

OTTAWA - In the battle of the airwaves Wednesday, Liberal Leader Stephane Dion showed up almost an hour late and a few pixels short in his duel with the prime minister he hopes to replace.

Dion was supposed to address the Canadian public immediately after Stephen Harper, but thanks to a handful of snafus the television networks were left filling dead air.

The Liberals delivered their video almost an hour late, 10 minutes after it was already supposed to air; and when it finally arrived both the English and French versions had been crammed onto the same tape, forcing broadcasters to hastily make copies.

The comedy of errors had the crew at CTV musing on air that it was a poor start for a leader hoping to take over the government in the midst of an economic crisis.

And the fuzzy quality of the production had CBC's anchor Peter Mansbridge cracking: "It kind of looked like they shot it with a cellphone."

Liberal brass refused to comment on the incident, either on the tardiness or the technical quality of the tape.

"It's the message that counts," said Dion spokesman Mark Dunn.

But any fear Conservatives might have felt entering Wednesday's televised showdown appeared to have been washed away in gales of laughter as they watched their opponent's address.

Members of Harper's entourage found various reasons for amusement while taking in the speech on TV sets stationed in the foyer outside the House of Commons.

There was the awkwardly tight camera angle. The three re-takes as Dion struggled to utter the word, "significantly." The fuzzy, webcam-quality focus. And the conspicuous placement of a book on climate change - titled Hot Air - looming over his shoulder.

Just a few moments earlier things had seemed far more promising for the Liberals.

Pundits had expressed bafflement that Harper failed to offer any contrition for his role in creating a political crisis, or an olive branch that could get his opponents to stand down.

Liberals were preparing to pounce on his address as further proof of the prime minister's stubborn, bullying ways.

But within minutes, tongues were wagging about the missing Liberal tape. And when Dion finally appeared, almost an hour behind schedule, the talk on Parliament Hill was all about his technical troubles.

CBC managing editor George Hoff said Dion's had office promised the tape by 6:20 p.m. but delivered it at 7:15. He said the Tories delivered their tape on time.

One well-known Liberal blogger had a blunt assessment.

Under the headline The Tape Delay, Warren Kinsella, a supporter of leadership candidate Michael Ignatieff, wrote: "This is pathetic. Someone should be fired, full stop."