TorSun, NP, CTV, CBC all reporting on Ignatieff's GAFFE, approaching "GATE" status

It's official... with most of the major MSM players reporting on Ignatieff's "devilish" GAFFE at the Calgary Stampede, what was initially a low-blow attack on the Prime Minister has now worked it's way up to a "GATE" status... which is it folks? "Devil-gate", "Satan-gate", or "Sulphur-gate"?

Credit goes to the first out of the gate Toronto Sun on this one, can't wait for SunTV News. Second was the National Post, who had "the quote" on their front page today. As a result, CTV was forced to question him on it when he appeared on Canada AM (see video), where he tried to simply dismiss the comments as "a joke". (Canadians aren't laughing at your negative, attacking, Republican-style humour, Mr. Ignatieff). With many of the major players having commented on it, the CBC was, of course, left to play catchup, unable to defend Ignatieff's gaffe by simply ignoring it any longer.

Let's review what we've seen so far... first was the Toronto Sun:

"Ignatieff kicked off his summer tour in Calgary by touting the Liberal’s “positive message” and then compared Prime Minister Stephen Harper to the devil, "You know you smell the whiff of sulfur coming off the guy.” In literature, the whiff of sulfur is often used to describe the devil and someone as well read as Ignatieff should know to choose his words more carefully."

National Post, today's front page:

Political rhetoric burns with fire and brimstone
Joe O'Connor, National Post · Tuesday, Jul. 13, 2010

There will be no retraction, no apology offered and no backing down for Michael Ignatieff, who kicked off a cross-Canada tour in Calgary by likening Prime Minister Stephen Harper to the devil.

Speaking to an audience of Liberal supporters at a Stampede breakfast on Saturday the official leader of the Opposition let fly, saying Canadians "can smell the whiff of sulphur" coming off the Conservative PM, a putrid scent most often associated with rotten eggs and — in Christian theology — Satan himself.

Michael O'Shaughnessy, Mr. Ignatieff's press secretary, stuck by his boss's verbal blast on Monday when pressed to elaborate. In an email, he said that the whiff of sulphur is "quite evident when one faces the Conservative government on a daily basis."

CTV - Video only, in which he tries to simply dismiss his blunder, can be accessed here.

And finally, the CBC:

However, political observers say Ignatieff's 2010 bus trip might not move his poll numbers much and come with risks, such as gaffes by the leader or, even worse, no one showing up.

Ignatieff already generated controversy over the weekend at the Calgary Stampede when he was quoted as comparing Harper to the devil, saying "Canadians can smell the whiff of sulphur coming off this guy."

And if he's just apologized on Sunday, when it was first reported, it would have been a non-issue... but now we're into DAY THREE of reporting on this gaffe, and the chorus is only growing louder.

Way to draw attention to your bus tour Mr. Ignatieff... making absolutely sure that everyone knows you blew it right out of the gate. Just issue an apology, (or a typical political "non-apology" apology) and get it over with.

UPDATE: The National Post's Kelly McParland has chimed in over the brewing controversy... "Maybe Ignatieff's just not that smart".

"The Liberal leader’s latest boneheaded move — comparing Stephen Harper to Satan — is more than just a stupid remark. It’s the umpteenth stupid remark, uttered just as he’s setting off on his umpteenth effort to remake his image and win over Canadians. The whole point of the Liberal bus tour, which set off today from Ottawa, was to expose voters to the real, informal, ordinary-guy Ignatieff in hopes they’d warm to him. “Hey look, our leader isn’t really the stiff-assed academic snob he appears to be in Ottawa — that’s all spin invented by the mainstream media and their corporate backers. Mike’s a nice guy when you get to know him! Really.”

So what’s he do? Before he even gets on the bus he heads off to Calgary — Calgary! — and informs everyone who voted for Harper (i.e. all of Alberta) that they’re such total dunderheads they cast their votes for the Prince of Darkness. Here he is in the heartland of Conservatism, Stephen Harper’s adopted home town, trying to lure just a few voters to his party, and the best tactic he can think of is to insult the entire province. What next: Head off to St. John’s and suggest that everyone who votes Tory is a dumb Newfie?

It’s hard to figure this guy. He’s made mistake after mistake after mistake. He signs the coalition pact, insists he’s on side, then repudiates the whole thing later. He stokes a phony election threat, insists he means it despite all common sense, then retreats in embarrassment when it falls flat. He raises issue after issue as a line in the sand, then does nothing when the Tories step over the line and kick sand in his face to boot. His own caucus ignores him, his supposed pal Bob Rae embarrasses him, he fires his advisers to get better advice, and then makes the same dumb mistakes under the new advisers.

He doesn’t seem to learn.