Mackay - The Disappearing Foreign Minister

With Peter Mackay roaming about the Middle East on a US-styled tour, one would think that our reporters would have pretty good access to him.

However, while the stories in the print media are relatively tame, on the broadcast media, it's clear that reporters are getting quite frustrated and angry. MacKay's itinerary is conveniently omitting things that he is doing, and outside of carefully controlled "photo op" moments, MacKay's not saying anything.

Now, granted, so far he and his master, Stephen Harper, haven't exactly been the dynamic duo on the world stage. Nuance and subtlety are not their strong suits. However, it appears that instead of learning from past mistakes and becoming a bit more of a diplomat, Peter MacKay has taken a page out of the Micromanager's Handbook and is simply not saying anything that might get back to his public.

At a visit today to a Palestinian school surrounded by barriers and Israeli checkpoints, we learned more about the visit from the School's Principal than from Mr. MacKay - who was ushered into the facility, given a tour and ushered away without talking to Canada's media.

Now, think about this. Here's MacKay trying to do the same style of regional tour that we have seen US Secretary of State Rice do before, only the difference here is Rice manages to make herself appear accessible. MacKay is acting as though he is afraid of the press - and by extension, Canada's voters.

Why the obsession with secrecy, Mr. MacKay? Do you perceive yourself to be so much better than the rabble of Canadians that we couldn't possibly comprehend the awesome subtlety of your activities? Or are you just trying to hide your incompetence?