Angry in the Great White North

Stephane Dion's leadership of Canada's Liberal Party is taking a beating:

Former Liberal MP Wajid Khan has crossed the floor and joined the Conservatives, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Friday.

"I'm proud to announce that Wajid Khan, the representative from Mississauga-Streetsville, is joining our Conservative caucus," said Harper.

"He will continue as my advisor on issue related to the Middle East and Central Asia."

What cabinet post is Khan getting? None.

What special perk for his riding? None.

In fact, Khan continues to act as Stephen Harper's advisor on the Middle East, a job he was given as a Liberal MP, and one he would have been allowed to continue to pursue as a Liberal.

So what drew Khan over? Obviously a lot of factors, though bribery does not seem to be one of them:

"I have been honoured to serve Prime Minister Harper and Canada's Conservative party," Khan said Friday.

Khan said the Conservatives have worked hard to include minorities in their policies.

"I have noticed that more and more Canadians are excited about joining the Conservative party... I was very pleased when Prime Minister Harper agreed that I should join the Conservative party."

"Leadership matters and I believe that the best leader for Canada is the man who now has the job -- Prime Minister Harper."

Compare that to the bristly thin-skinned leadership now enjoyed by the Liberal Party:

On Thursday, Dion told Khan to choose between his party or the Conservatives.

Dion said Khan could not continue serving as Harper's 'special adviser.'

"You can't have a foot in the government and a foot in the opposition," said Dion. "He needs to choose. I hope he will stay with us."

Dammit, Khan, you can't contribute what you can as a Muslim MP to helping solve the serious problems in the Middle East! The most important thing you can do is work to destroy Stephen Harper and his Conservatives, even if they seem to be doing the right thing, and even if they've asked us to help with that. The only thing that matters is making me Prime Minister!

OK, I don't think that's what exactly what was said, but Stephane Dion has made it clear that no issue is more important that putting him in power.

Amid speculation that a Liberal MP is planning to cross the floor to join the Conservatives, Liberal Leader Stephane Dion told the CBC Friday he is confident there will be no such defection and that the MP is a "committed Liberal."

Contrary to reports that Mississauga-Streetsville Liberal MP Wajid Khan had been wooed over by the Tories, Dion said Friday, "in politics you hear many things and to me, Mr. Khan is a colleague. He will be part of the caucus; he will work in a positive way."

Gee, you'd think working for Middle East peace was a "positive" thing, but then you're not Stephane Dion.

Yeah, I'm not sure I would be comfortable working for a guy like him either. Welcome, Wajid. I think you'll like it here.

[Of course, Stephen Taylor has known all along.]