Bad timing or stupidity?

Look - I agree that there should be less government and more private influence, but this is just frustrating:

Preston Manning and Mike Harris tossed an electoral hand grenade into the lap of Conservative Leader Stephen Harper on Wednesday, issuing a joint report calling for the federal government to get out of Medicare and let the provinces experiment with private health services.

The last thing we need is more phony and disingenuous Medicare debate. The focus needs to be on the sponsorship scandal, Liberal corruption, and the need for change. I suppose there is the possibility the Conservatives could use the issue to their advantage, but I dare not hope...