I love Harper's New Ad. Who Says he Doesn't Answer Questions?

Great ad. A little honesty in political advertising.

If only.

William Kaplan wonders why the media bother to cover Stephen Harper's campaign, when they have to operate under a five question a day limit, and even then he only answers questions he's comfortable with.

Ask any reporter. Since Mr. Harper took office, the bureaucrats have stopped talking to journalists because they fear reprisals. Many government MPs won’t return telephone calls if it’s the news calling. Cabinet ministers regularly refuse to comment. The Harper government has established more roadblocks to access to information than any other government since the act was put on the books.

Mr. Harper’s refusal to provide information to Parliament on the cost of his law-and-order initiatives is just the latest in a long list of his top priority: information control. How long are reporters going to allow themselves to be pushed around? When are they going to say, “We’ve had enough”?

Good question.

Wouldn't it be better if they just said we were going to cover Harper's campaign but he'd prefer we didn't, so we've moved on. See how quickly he changes the policy.

But if they are going to continue to be compliant, then they deserve the pounding they've been getting from Canadians, who believe the media is about as reliable as polls now.