We’re now getting word that “non-partisan” David Emerson helped delay a softwood lumber deal with the United States for partisan reasons. Sure, the Martin PMO helped, but we expect duplicity and incompetence from them so their role in this isn’t really news.

First of all, I have a hard time believing that this was part of some Machiavellian plan on Emerson’s part (OMG! Was he the mole?!?!) but, once again, the optics aren’t good. It certainly reveals that Emerson was willing to “play politics” (leaving the saint among men, Jack Layton, as the only politician left refusing to “play politics”).

And now that the Liberals, in a completely out of character move, have leaked the deal, it’s going to make it hard for Emerson to sign the same deal. Further compounding his difficulties in negotiating a deal would be this.

All that aside, most worrisome is the fact that the PMO felt it would help their re-election campaign by not having a deal with the US on softwood. I mean, why sign a deal to help the softwood industry when you can take cheap shots at George Bush for seven weeks? More evidence that the Liberal “banned member list” should include the people who ran this election campaign.