Through no fault of their own, the Conservatives have got off on the wrong foot this campaign. They seem to have lost "the frame" in the first 24 hours.

At his launch yesterday Stephen Harper said the choice facing Canadians was between risk and certainty in difficult economic times. Stéphane Dion is "risk" and he, Harper, is "certainty". That was how Conservatives framed the contest.

Even a quick scan of media coverage this morning shows that didn't take. "Battle begins for elusive majority" said the Globe and Mail. "Harper downplays chance of Majority" said the Toronto Star and to back up that La Presse reported a new poll that indicated there is enough support out there now to give Harper a majority.

So rather than the "risk vs. certainty" frame, we have the "can they get a majority?" frame which raises the question "is that what we want?"

The Conservatives have been burned by that question before. Mid-campaign 2004 Conservatives had the momentum behind them when Harper started musing about wining a majority. That ended it. The Liberals surged back and won government.

So, as much as the polls are encouraging for Conservatives, it is not the media frame they need right now and they will want to change that. There's certainly time for that.

— Keith Boag