The second to last refuge of Canadian Political Scoundrels: The American Card

As pointed out by Instapundit, the first refuge of Canadian Political Scoundrels is of course Gun Control.

The second of course, is playing the anti-American card:

In one of the more electrifying moments of the two-hour debate, Martin lashed out at Harper over "the basic value gap" between them, and said the Tory leader wanted to foist "American conservative values on Canada. "America is our neighbour, not our nation" thundered Martin.

From the Toronto Star, itself a bastion of anti-Americanism.

Whether the crass attempt to invoke standard Canadian knee-jerk reaction to flee in horror from anyone or any policy labelled pro-American or American-like will pay off is too early to tell, but its certainly a calculated gambit to shed attention from the unending tide of Liberal Party corruption scandals in Canada.

Expect to hear Prime Minister Martin continue to use the term American in a derogatory fashion thoroughout his campaign. Not a particularly wise idea to be so negative about your largest trading partner and largest, closest neighbor, but in Canada its good political pandering.