A Poor Raitt Exchange

Let me be clear: I think Lisa Raitt has performed admirably since the sudden revelation that her briefing books had been left at a local media station. When the Prime Minister was urged to fire her, the Natural Resources minister was a picture of grace under pressure, stating that she offered to resign but the PM refused to accept.  From that moment the responsibility for what to do shifted to the Prime Minister himself.  Things haven't let up for the beleaguered minister, but she has continued to hold her own, answering questions in an efficient manner.      Up until today that is.  She attempted to keep herself above the fray previously, but when Michael Ignatieff queried her today about her handling of the Chalk River situation, she rounded on him, stating he wouldn't have known much about it since he was never in the country anyway.  While Liberals booed, government members stood and roared in approval like she had suddenly scored a last minute touchdown.I was disappointed because after days of showing real aplomb in a difficult time, she had suddenly arrived at the point of throwing mud. Some will say it is only understandable given the pounding she has been taking in the House and the media. Perhaps. But in that moment of rank partisanship she suddenly lost the respect of many who were quietly impressed with her response.It reminded me of that time a week earlier, when Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, in response to a question asked by one of her own Conservative members in Question Period, shot out at the Liberals in a fashion that mildly stunned most of us in the House.  Prior to that occasion she had shown remarkable efficiency.  I had even blogged at the time about how professionally she had handled the swine flu crisis by bringing into her confidence her opposition counterparts.  Suddenly watching her lash out after she had been shown respect by all three opposition parties was disappointing.But there's the thing. The entire time the Health Minister was answering the question she seemed entirely uncomfortable, stumbling on her words and looking down as soon as she concluded. I, too, looked down, because in that moment I felt Parliament had lost one of its more respectful (and respected) voices.  And I think I know what happened. Her party had arranged the question from one of her colleagues and then had written her answer.  As she was reading someone else's words, her well-earned reputation was slowly being washed away and I think she knew it.  But anything for the party, I guess.Did the same happen to Lisa Raitt?  Who knows? But if the reaction to her partisan response today by a number from all opposition parties is any indication, the "street cred" she had earned over the past few days, and that she would require to weather the storm, suddenly waned.It's sad. Here are a couple of capable women who were thrown into the fire and emerged with a grudging respect from the House. But their party, understandably frustrated by opposition pressure, nevertheless used them for partisan purposes, undermining the admiration for them in the process. It would be the same if the another party was in government; it's just a shame, that's all. Their light and reasoning should have been permitted to shine. Instead they were tainted, just like the rest of us.