Angry in the Great White North

I suppose if there is a silver lining to this story of absurd Liberal lying is that John McCallum is bad at it.  And I mean really bad at it.

The question was simple.  What sort of car do you drive?  And yes, if you don't happen to drive a car made in North America, you might take some heat for it.  But then there is nothing illegal about driving a foreign-made car.  And anyone, including Liberal politicians, have the right to buy whatever product best suits their needs.  It's not John McCallum's fault that no American manufacturer made a car that suited his needs (though I suppose one could ask questions about what made the Jetta better than a Chevy for John McCallum).

But showing a lack of deftness that makes me wonder how he ever made it in politics, John McCallum tells a pathetic lie, and tells it badly:

McCallum, a former minister of defence, veterans affairs, natural resources and national revenue, was in town Tuesday to speak at the annual general meeting of the Windsor-Tecumseh Liberal riding association.

After telling reporters that a Liberal government would have sounder and more aggressive economic policies than the Conservative government, McCallum, who arrived at the gathering as a passenger in a VW Jetta, was asked what kind of car he drove.

McCallum stammered for several seconds before responding: "I drive a North American-made car." Asked to be more specific, he responded: "I drive a General Motors car." Asked again to be more specific, he said it was "a Chevrolet."

I think it was a fair question, since "sounder and more aggressive economic policies" might include some sort of push for Canadian consumers to restrict their choices to cars manufactured in North America, and in particular, brands made in North America by American-based car companies.

Clearly one might wonder if that sort of constraint on the buying options of the general public won't be applied to Liberal cabinet ministers who tool around in sporty foreign cars.

So yes, admitting that he drives a Jetta would have made for an uncomfortable situation for John McCallum.

But John McCallum has turned an uncomfortable moment into a full-blown news story:

McCallum phoned The Star about an hour later to retreat from those comments, offering this explanation in a voicemail: "I said the wrong thing without thinking. The fact of the matter is that I do not own a North American-made car."

He followed with an e-mail sent from his Blackberry that said: "To confirm message I left on your voicemail, to clarify, I do not own a North American made vehicle."

McCallum never divulged what kind of car he owns.

And it goes a bit deeper than this.  It makes me wonder just how much we can really trust Liberals, and especially the top echelon of the Liberal caucus, to be honest about their plans.  If they can't be forthright in response to as simple a question as what sort of cars they drive for fear of drawing attention to what they really expect their policies to accomplish, then I wonder if there is anything to their policies that extends beyond platitudes like "sounder and more aggressive economic policies".

So for John McCallum, no more lies.  Or maybe a lot more lies -- you know, so you can get in some practise and stop embarrassing yourself and your party.