Stéphane Dion and Stephen Harper spent most of the week attacking each other's ability to lead in the shadow of a dramatic economic meltdown in the United States.

But some more sober analysis came from a former finance minister.

Liberal John Manley threw cold water on the political posturing and said Canada will not be shielded from the impact, regardless of who is in charge.

He told CBC Radio's The House, "We are not immune to that, nor is there anything particularly that we can do to prevent any of the spillover from coming our way."

The crisis has dwarfed the federal election in news coverage this week.

The question now is how quickly will it render the campaign platforms — and their attendant promises — obsolete.

— Louise Elliott