She said the Tories did two things wrong fairly early in the campaign. First, they launched some American-style negative ads, particularly the "revolving door of justice" ad that [Shannon Sampert] said rubbed people the wrong way. The NDP had its share of negative ads as well, claiming [Hugh McFadyen] would sell off Manitoba Hydro and gut health care, but they were more deftly targeted.

"We have been bold and we've taken some criticism for that," McFadyen said Monday. "In the end, Manitoba needs some boldness."

If "reckless" was Premier Gary Doer's favourite word of the campaign, then "bold" was McFadyen's, and he made memorable promises that converged around crime and taxes.