On foot removal

The Cons go through another damaging rite of passage earlier on than one would expect, as Peter MacKay has apologized to the families of the Canadian hostages in Iraq:

MacKay told reporters on Monday he was confident the hostages were alive and would be released soon, and that he believed they had been moved several times.

The next day, he told reporters he had no new information since a video was released three weeks ago that indicated they were alive and well.

MacKay was criticized for speculating publicly about their welfare in a way that could raise the hopes of relatives of the hostages, and for making comments that might further endanger the hostages.

It may be the first time a Harper cabinet minister has had to apologize for simultaneously raising hopes and mismanaging a file...but there's plenty of reason to think it won't be the last. And enough gaffes are piling up early in Harper's tenure to suggest that the Con government may be be stuck with a lasting (and well-deserved) reputation for incompetence even before they face their first day in Parliament.