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Is it fair to rap Trudeau, Ford for selfies outside Flaherty’s state funeral?

When it comes to politics I'm a knee-jerk moderate, so it's very rare I find myself agreeing with the folks over at Sun News Network. It happens about as often as the lunar eclipse we had this week.

But we're more or less on the same page over word that Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and Toronto Mayor Rob Ford took time to pose for photos with people outside Jim Flaherty's funeral.

Commentators on the conservative-oriented news network especially took Trudeau to task for leaning in for a selfie on his way into the solemn church service for the former finance minister, who died suddenly of a heart attack last week.

A smiling Trudeau is shown gazing into a woman's smart phone before heading into the Toronto's St. James Cathedral.

Ford, a close family friend of Flaherty (who once publicly broke into tears over the mayor's drug problems), also allowed himself to be photographed in a shot that went up on Instagram.

[ Related: Obama’s Mandela ‘selfie’ controversy overblown: photographer ]

Let's dispense first with the Ford shot. His worship, draped in a green scarf many wore to honour Flaherty's Irish roots, stands next to a young guy who's giving the thumbs up.

Ford, who's officially launching his mayoral re-election campaign Thursday night, has made a career out of ignoring proper protocol. Given his problems with drugs, booze and publicly erratic behaviour, the bar is set pretty low. At least he didn't show up drunk.

No, it's Trudeau who's taking the hit here.

Although he's now a veteran politician and popular leader, a man entering his mid-40s, he's still seen by some as a young whippersnapper. Critics are quick to jump on things that suggest he doesn't have the gravitas to be prime minister.

A video clip showing Trudeau stopping for the selfie quickly went up Wednesday on BC Blue, a Conservative blog, which compared it with U.S. President Barack Obama's notorious selfie at Nelson Mandela's memorial last December.

Trudeau's spokeswoman, Kate Purchase, took to Twitter to dismiss the flak.

I agree with the Sun News's talking heads that the correct thing for both politicians to do would have been to tell their fans this wasn't the appropriate time and place for selfies.

[ Related: Jim Flaherty hailed as a 'hero' by sons at state funeral ]

In the greater scheme of things, it's a venial sin at best, but maybe a cardinal political sin for Trudeau. It gives more ammunition to the Conservatives for the 2015 election campaign. You can already visualize the TV attack ads and pamphlets using the video frame grab of the incident as another example of why he's not ready to lead.

At least one Twitter user who said he was at the funeral suggested prominent Conservatives also stopped for photos.

That may be true, but beside the point. "They were all doing it" isn't a useful defence when something you do reinforces the image your critics are painting of you.

(Photo via don_est19xx, Instagram)