Toronto Star: Tories get twitchy waiting for McCain

[tuvor]

OTTAWA - What internal investigations gain in control they lose in credibility. So it's hardly surprising the federal government is sensitive about its in-house probe of its own free-trade leak.

Conservatives were hoping suspicion about the inquiry and their role in turning a diplomat's brief into a helping hand for Republicans would end with the timely political exit of Ian Brodie, Stephen Harper's chief of staff and a central figure in the controversy. John McCain's decision to reignite the NAFTA debate in a speech here Friday is crushing that hope.

After weeks fixating on the made-for-TV Julie Couillard drama, Canadians, with help from the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, have new reasons to switch scandals. McCain's arrival is an invitation to stop looking for more bodies in her spider's web and start asking questions the investigation failed to answer.

The one that matters most is: How did an internal memo find its way to The Associated Press just in time to embarrass Barack Obama during the Ohio presidential primary?

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By coming to town, McCain is reminding Americans that he champions free trade and that the leaked memo suggested, rightly or not, that Obama speaks out of both sides of his month. That's good for Republicans but not for Conservatives if it also reminds Canadians they are now pawns in U.S. politics.

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http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/444341