Today's buzz: 'This man has no class'

By Shannon Proudfoot
Canwest News Service

A technician prepares Liberal leader Stephane Dion for a television interview in Toronto October 10. (Shaun Best/Reuters)

The buzz: The Conservatives' announcement of a $25-billion plan to buy back mortgages from the banks was overshadowed Friday by sparring between party leaders over an awkward interview and the ability to shepherd the country through shaky economic times.     

The spark: On Thursday, Stephane Dion asked a couple of times to restart an interview with a Halifax TV reporter after he became flummoxed by a question about what he would have done differently than Stephen Harper had he been prime minister during the recent economic upheaval. The Liberal camp asked that the false starts not be broadcast and the TV station initially agreed, but later decided to air the segment.     

The critique: Harper delayed the departure of his campaign plane on Thursday evening to speak to reporters about the interview, seizing on the exchange as evidence of the Liberal leader's unreadiness to govern.     

"When you're running a $1.5-trillion economy, you don't get a chance to have do-overs, over and over again," he said. "And I think what this incident actually indicates very clearly is that Mr. Dion and the Liberal party really don't know what they would do about the economy."     

The rebuttal: The Liberal leader said Harper's comments about the on-camera confusion - which Dion says was caused by a hearing problem and struggles with the English language - were a shot below the belt.     

"It was not about our pensions, our savings, our jobs," he said. "It was to not miss an opportunity to come with a low-blow attack against his main opponent. This man has no class, and he has no plan."     

The pile-on: Other party leaders defended Dion, with Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe saying the bar is set higher in Ottawa for francophones attempting to communicate in English than for anglophones struggling with French.     

NDP Leader Jack Layton criticized Dion's record as Opposition leader, but expressed empathy for his interview troubles, saying "I've struggled with questions, too."