As we know Stephen Harper has tried to make the niqab controversy the centrepiece of his campaign, as instructed by his brutish Aussie flying monkey Lynton Crosby.
And while most sane people might find that disgusting.
As Rick Mercer points out, for some it is a handy distraction.
If you missed last night's French-language debate you can relax because you didn't miss much.
The debate had its lively moments, but there were no knock out punches, and I very much doubt that it will move many votes in Quebec or in the rest of Canada.
Tom Mulcair survived the combined assault of his opponents, Justin Trudeau more than held his own, Elizabeth May did surprisingly well considering she doesn't speak French as well as the others. And Gilles Duceppe started strong and quickly faded.
But what the debate did show conclusively is that Stephen Harper is determined to use the niqab issue to try to win the election.
The snow is finally melting on the waterfront. If I close my eyes and feel the warm sun on my face, I can almost dream that Spring is here at last.
Which is a good thing, because there isn't much else to celebrate in Canada these days.
Not when the country is as beached as the boat in that painting. Looking grubby and going nowhere.
And not when its depraved leader Stephen Harper is using fear as a political weapon.
There are so many things I hate about what Stephen Harper is doing to Canada. I hate the way he is trying to scare Canadians into voting for him.
I hate the way he is trying to turn us into a police state with his totalitarian Bill-C51.
Or the way he is murdering our values with his brutish Life Means Life campaign.
But most of all I hate the way he is stirring up hatred against the small group of Canadians who wear a niqab. While claiming to be a champion of women's rights.
When in fact, as Antonia Zerbisias points out, from the moment he came to power he has waged a never-ending war on women.
You should have seen Stephen Harper in Question Period yesterday, for there couldn't have been a more scary spectacle.
He looked like hell, bagged beyond belief. He looked angry and desperate.
Angry at Justin Trudeau for accusing him of fanning the flames of bigotry with his Great War on the Niqab.
And sounded like an absolute maniac.
