Day 12: A few quick hitters this A.M.

Loser: Conservative Agricultural Minister Gerry Ritz for obvious reasons. Not only do his insensitive comments effect his own campaign and future within the party, his bonehead remarks do absoutely nothing for the rest of the hardworking conservative candidates who are in tight battles and are trying to fend off the notion that Harper and his party are cold and calculating. I'm sure I'll get a lot of criticism for saying this, but this is one conservative camper that thinks that he should save his boss the trouble and resign his post. Canadians, and the families of the listeriosis victims, deserve no less.

Local Losers: New Brunswick, PEI and Nova Scotia federal Tories. No, they weren't personally guilty of anything. They just ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time on this day. And for the few who were running decent, clean and positive campaigns, the Ritz comment will only taint all that by bringing that good message off the rails and back to the fact that Harper and his party are uncaring and insensitive about maritimers (and Canadians in general). Let's just say, I now expect the "defeatist" line to be trotted out by many Liberals for the remainder of the campaign.

Policy loser: Green party leader Elizabeth May for not only suggesting a GST hike, but for the fact that she omitted important specifics regarding her carbon tax plan. It's the same policy as last year which also called for a $50-a-tonne reduction on fossil fuels, however, this time she failed to tell Canadians that this reduction would [again] mean a 12 cent increase in gas prices at the pumps. A clever (but dishonest) omission since many Canadians are struggling with high gas prices already. I think many will agree that we don't need a policy that will put us over the top in these trying times.