It is far too early pass judgment on the Conservative's strategy to define Trudeau as infantile and lacking the royal jelly to govern. The most repeated refrain heard on social and mainstream media is that the Conservatives have failed to put a dent Trudeau's armour. Backed by polls that consistently show national support for the Liberals leading the pack--by as much as 16 percent if you believe Forum Research (and no one believes Forum Research)--professional and citizen pundits have rushed to the quickest assessment of the Conservatives strategy and declared the attack ads a failure. But that statement only rings true if the Conservative's strategy was/is to win the intra-writ period polls. Labeling the strategy a failure is at this juncture--merely an indication that observers have failed to understand the strategy. With Trudeau, the Conservatives are continuing their tactic of defining their opponent. In Dion's case he was painted as bumbling and incoherent, in Ignatieff's the claim was that he was motivated not by a call to public service but rather self interest. As with Trudeau, the Conservatives wasted no time in defining Misters Dion and Ignatieff, the ads came early in their respective leaderships, were in heavy rotation then the ad buy ended, poof. Some thought the end of the ads was an admission of defeat, because in both previous cases the ads did not have any discernible or immediate effect. But in the heat of a national campaign, when all eyes were trained on the leaders, the power of the ads and the idea that had been planted in the minds of Canadians became evident. Canadians when faced with a ballot box decision began to take a serious look at Dion and saw him as a bumbler, likewise they saw Ignatieff as selfish. The results speak for themselves. So while the Liberals are temporarily enjoying a resurgence in support thanks to their young and charming leader, it is too early to declare the Conservative strategy a failure. In fact, it could already be showing some early signs of promise... consider this, when Canadians are polled about what they don't like about Trudeau, they reference his youth and inexperience.
