Dan Gardner - Good points on Harper

"The Dion tax trick," responds the host in a similar sneering tone.

This is the language of pseudo-populism, which is populism as pose.

In pseudo-populism, every politician but the pseudo-populist is a liar, every expert a fool, every tax unfair. There are no trade-offs required, no sacrifice demanded.

Whatever puts money in jeans and gas in the truck is good; whatever does not, is not.

There are no complex problems, no need for nuanced responses. Every prejudice is the golden stuff known as common sense and a scoff blows away the intellectuals, phonies and fat cats.

The underlying message in pseudo-populism is simple: Don't think carefully. Don't learn more. Don't question your beliefs. Don't ask whether the other guy has a point. Don't consider that some things may be more important to your family and future generations than putting money in your jeans and gas in your truck.

Pseudo-populism assumes that most people are ignorant, selfish and cynical. But rather than regretting this reality and seeking to correct it, the pseudo-populist promotes and exploits it.

In making his proposal at the time and in the fashion he did, Stéphane Dion revealed much about how he sees the world. By responding with a barrage of pseudo-populism, Mr. Harper did the same.

Stéphane Dion is a bit of a Pollyanna. Stephen Harper is Richard Nixon on a bad day.

It will be interesting to see how such polarized visions fare in an election campaign.