All Arcane on the Western Front

So, I'm sitting at home trying to eat enough to stick to my diet (If you don't eat enough, in proportion to how much you burn, your body will eventually begin telling you to eat lots of food, not good when you work at a convienience store) and I'm doing what most Canadians do at 3 AM on a Saturday night, watching a post mortem of the Campbell campaign in '93...

Okay I'm a giant political geek, but it was still a worth while experience. I saw the infamous think twice ad. The one where Chretien's pacial Paralysis is mocked. And I never saw this ad when I was 10 and the election was in full swing, but what they're trying to do is portray this man as a fool. If you get a chance look at that ad. Then listen to the audio and substitute this picture:
Voice Over: Doesn't John Diefenbaker understand the need for a national oil Pipeline? Think Twice, Vote Liberal.

That picture could have been used. Same way, same emotions, no outcry. The '93 think twice ad gave people the impression that the Tories were saying 'would you elect a disabled guy?' when they were saying 'would you elect an unstable guy?'

So what was the mistake here? Twofold:

1. The Tories didn't clarify the message believably, instead they yanked it confirming the impression of the ad.
2. The staff didn't run the ad by the leader so when it became an issue, she was firing blind.

In other news I've fixed my comments so you don't have to be a blogger to chime in. Hopefully this will unleash a torrent of feedback. Or at least some spam.