Inkless Wells

Paul Wells on all the latest out of Ottawa—along with the occasional post about jazz. Follow Paul on Twitter: @InklessPW
He also offers his thoughtful perspective of Stephen Harper’s last 10 years in his recent eBook, The Harper Decade.

Categories: Capital Read, Inkless Wells

A pretty good day for the NDP

by Paul Wells on Wednesday, January 20, 2010 4:29pm - 111 Comments

One of the most widely-read and respected Liberal bloggers in the history of that vitally important medium is none too pleased that the NDP have “outflanked the sloth-like Liberals.”

UPDATE: Nothing slothlike about this. Michael Ignatieff is going to smite the Conservatives by holding a town hall on his Facebook page. I am officially forbidden by the Pundits’ Guild to make fun of Facebook-related political action, so… draw your own conclusions.

Tags: ideas come in handy, making parliament work more gooder

More by Paul Wells

http://farnwide.blogspot.com/ SteveV

LOL.

http://intensedebate.com/people/BCerInToronto Jeff Jedras

Yes, I laughed out loud at work as well when I read that on Twitter.

Bravo, Paul.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Crit_Reasoning Crit_Reasoning

One of the most widely-read and respected Liberal bloggers in the history of that vitally important medium

Heh. I see that Steve V has been promoted from the "not-terribly-prominent" status that ruffled feathers last time.

Anyway, he's a great blogger and I'm glad that he's getting the attention he deserves. He makes an excellent point that the Liberals are trying to capitalize on prorogation politically, but they're peddling outrage without actually offering anything in terms of reforms or alternatives.

Bill D. Cat

….but they're peddling outrage without actually offering anything in terms of reforms or alternatives.

It's what they do best .
catherine

The only thing worse than peddling outrage without actually offering anything in terms of reforms or alternatives would be offering another useless-fixed-election-date-law which fixes nothing.

juridiculous

The only thing worse than peddling outrage without actually offering anything in terms of reforms or alternatives would be peddling outrage arising from a case that was lost in the federal court of canada (twice!)

http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/fct/doc/2008/2008fc11…
http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/fct/doc/2009/2009fc92…

catherine

Exactly. The Opposition pointed out when the legislation was discussed that it was meaningless, and those court cases prove they were right. We don't need more useless legislation.

blamo

We don't need this useless Prime Minister (or his photo-ops).

CAPS

Paul, he did also write:

"The Liberals have been doing a lot of good things lately, plenty of positive signs that have me encouraged."

Amateur Hour

Then there's that little fact about Iggy traveling around the country for the past few weeks, taking open mike questions from real live Canadians… But I guess that's just too old school to merit praise these days.

http://intensedebate.com/people/tedbetts tedbetts

Well, Harper has never done it so stuff like that must not be important.

In fact, since Harper has never held an open public forum with unscripted questions from real, live ordinary Canadians, it must be because "Canadians don't care about that sort of thing".

http://intensedebate.com/people/LynnTO LynnTO

Or, as another person who shall live in infamy once quipped: issues don't matter in elections.

Anon Liberal

Doesn't fit the Wells narrative. CUT!

http://intensedebate.com/people/psiclone psiclone

It really is quite fascinating to watch the squeeze play this last year here on one side we have Hitler re-incarnated and recent advocate of Lucifer himself Harper and minions .. and on the other side folks … we have Jacko the Principled and for the most part the only real oppostion to the former. In the middle the new contender his Igginess (I coulda been a contender) … has anyone else noted that Jack has been playing his cards ever so adroilty of late as he feels the sulphuric breath on his back from his real foe the Thomas of Mulcair – who you have to credit to as this guy is good on his feet and runs circles around everone around him so far that I have seen and I am a Conbot CPC troll so consider the source of the praise!

Anon Liberal

"…so consider the source of the praise!"
————————————————–

Don't worry, we are.

http://intensedebate.com/people/SeanStok SeanStok

speed kills

http://intensedebate.com/people/Inkless Inkless

What's the opposite of steak knives? Kudos, SeanStok

http://intensedebate.com/people/SeanStok SeanStok

That'd be grapefruit spoons. And thank you.

Kaplan

"seed kills" Ah yes, the ever so mordant quip made famous by the '92 Clinton War Room, proving…what, exactly, in this particular context?

Blues Clair

Conbots sure Layton sure love, fascinating until, threat to their hold power… last coalition Dion's years that is. ROFL!
http://intensedebate.com/people/Jack_Mitchell Jack Mitchell
Is that seriously Michael Ignatieff's only response to the phenomenon of 200 000 people registering their dislike of Harper? Holding an online chat in which, as in all online chats, the questions will be five times more interesting than the answers? How many times will he say "you have to acknowledge the facts" or some such anaesthetic platitude? Or pick your cliché!
- "Our priority is listening to Canadians"
- "We are the party of Canadian values"
- "This raises important questions about where we are going as a country"
- "We have great strengths as a nation; you can't underestimate Canada"
- et f*cking cetera . . .
I no longer buy the idea that Apps & Co. are cloaking the too-bright-for-mortal-eyes genius & intellection of Michael Ignatieff, Superstar. This guy is heading for the abyss.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Crit_Reasoning Crit_Reasoning

This guy is heading for the abyss.

That, or he's heading back to Harvard. Each anaesthetic platitude brings him another step closer.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Jack_Mitchell Jack Mitchell

Harvard is the abyss of public intellectuals. Seriously, the only point, apart from social networking (oops, did I say that?) of quasi-academic places like the John F. Kennedy School of Government is that they're supposed to help inject high-end thinking into public debate. When a career journalist and intellectual like Ignatieff finds himself ideally positioned to change the dynamic of a major Western democracy and then does no more than fall flat on his face, over and over again, over and over and over again, you have to conclude that such institutions should stick to social networking.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Crit_Reasoning Crit_Reasoning

Well said. A public intellectual and Harvard luminary of Ignatieff's supposed calibre could have reasonably been expected to be brimming with useful ideas when he first became Canada's Leader of the Opposition – the opportunity of a lifetime.

I think we were all a little surprised when the idea cupboard turned out to be so bare.

Katherine

Yes and no. His academic strengths are in issues like how to manage conflicting rights in a multicultural society, which is not at the top of most people's priority lists right now, and in foreign policy and national security, where his ideas are controversial to say the least (support for the Iraq War and forms of torture), so he's not saying much about them. The main domestic issues on the board as things stand are the economy, the environment, and health care, where he's really no more knowledgable than any other politically-interests, well-informed person – and on health care he was probably less so, at least initially, given that he's spent most of his adult life outside Canada.
http://intensedebate.com/people/Jack_Mitchell Jack Mitchell

Not to be pedantic, but he doesn't have any "academic strengths" because he's not an academic or a scholar.

But, in any case, it's not so much a question of knowledge as it is a problem of communication. The guy has been a writer (of novels, general-reader essays in e.g. the NYRB, non-scholarly non-fiction books) his whole life. He spent years in the UK on-camera. Issues of security, intra-state conflict, identity, etc. are issues that naturally lend themselves to eloquence — much more so than health care, the economy, or even the environment. Yet we have been served nothing but clichés such any president of Canada Steamship Lines could muster.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Ricard_S_Argent Richard_S_Argent

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/753480…

Skim down to paragraph five.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Jack_Mitchell Jack Mitchell

Well, it's something, but I guess what I'm asking for here is incendiary oratory, not roundtables or think-ins or widespread public consultations and on-campus speaking engagements.

Kaplan

More yelling, less thinking.

tobyornottoby

Never mind all that, how do you do the cool bullets in the comments, Jack?

http://intensedebate.com/people/Jack_Mitchell Jack Mitchell
Ha! I was waiting to spread the good word. The html tags are:
- first, [ul] (short for "unnumbered list");
- then a [li] (short for "list item") for every bullet;
- finally, everything is closed off with a [/ul].
You have to replace the square brackets I've used here with pointy brackets.
http://intensedebate.com/people/sea_n_mountains sea_n_mountains

yeah! where the hell did you find those?

http://intensedebate.com/people/Jack_Mitchell Jack Mitchell

If I recall correctly, they didn't used to work, but I think Intense Debate has been expanding the range of supported html tags. I think [blockquote] works too, let's try it:

Sunt autem quidam e nostris, qui haec subtilius velint tradere et negent satis esse, quid bonum sit aut quid malum, sensu iudicari, sed animo etiam ac ratione intellegi posse et voluptatem ipsam per se esse expetendam et do

And . . .

kcm

You do realise Michael will now have to pick new cliches? Spoilsport.

he does seem to lack killer instinct doesn't he? Perhaps Donolo will feed him some good openings?

http://intensedebate.com/people/Jack_Mitchell Jack Mitchell

I was hoping that too, but it's been some time since the shakeup and Ignatieff's main response to the prorogation FUFU has been to go on vacation. In France, no less. (Nothing against France, but the optics are bad.) Why would you need a vacation if you were a natural leader? Napoleon didn't take vacations. As Goethe put it,

When it was said of Napoleon that he was a man of granite, this applied particularly to his body. What was it, then, which he could not and did not venture? From the burning sands of the Syrian deserts, to the snowy plains of Moscow, what an incalculable amount of marches, battles, and nightly bivouacs did he go through? And what fatigues and bodily privations was he forced to endure? Little sleep, little nourishment, and yet always in the highest mental activity. After the awful exertion and excitement of the eighteenth Brumaire, it was midnight, and he had not tasted anything during the whole day, and yet without thinking of strengthening his body, he felt power enough in the depth of the night to draw up the well-known proclamation to the French people. When one considers what he accomplished and endured, one might imagine that when he was in his fortieth year not a sound particle was left in him ; but even at that age he still occupied the position of a perfect hero.

Here we have a man who is in a position, as no one but conceivably Jason Kenney is, to become Prime Minister of his country, and he goes on vacation during the biggest event of his tenure as leader? And he comes back from it not with a new proposal for Parliamentary reform or an Obama-esque oration on leadership and accountability, but with a plan to hold an online chat on a forum somebody else created and nurtured? I seriously wonder if the guy is prematurely senile.

kcm

"When it was said of Napoleon that he was a man of granite…"

Ignatieff being made of something a little less obdurate…say playdoo.

I'm not inspired either…perhaps Donolo's an evil genius…but even he can't make bricks without straw

Orson Bean

I also can't help but observe that incredible amounts of energy, lack of need for sleep, boundless enthusiasm etc. are symptoms of mania.

http://intensedebate.com/people/sea_n_mountains sea_n_mountains

Jack you are right on the mark. the dude is dismissal.

I don't think he knows whether he is coming or going. i would love to see what the hell goes on in Office of the Leader of the Opposition strategy session that leads to these decisions (e.g., ill-timed prorogation holiday; promising to not bring down the government no matter what after promising to bring down the government no matter; writing a letter about CAPP; forgetting to have ideas about what to do).

he could end up being seen as having a worse political aptitude then Dion.

Orson Bean

I do agree that Dion, to this point in time, at least has the virtue of having proposed a clear alternative policy vision for the country. I'm a pretty severe political junkie, but even I have yet to grasp what actual policies or programs an Iggy-led government would bring in that are materially different from what the Tories are doing.
http://intensedebate.com/people/sea_n_mountains sea_n_mountains

yeah Dion had a number of discernible policy planks, a clear direction focusing orientation for the party. He had his challenges you had a sense he both understood his job and had some capacity to do it. I said some.
http://intensedebate.com/people/sea_n_mountains sea_n_mountains

oh oh the Libbots are out. what happens if the Libbots and Conbots mate?
Orson Bean

Well for one thing, we would get an even blander set of policy choices (or lack thereof) than we already have. Which is pretty damn bland.
Poker Face

It's like the difference between all-bran and shredded wheat; and then there's straight up eating the box they come in.

http://intensedebate.com/people/David0M David_M.

Killer instinct eh?
Don't we really want something more, something better?
I agree, Ignatieff doesn't know when/how to pull the trigger(yet) but I still hold out hope for a subtle presentation of the ammunition.

kcm

I certainly hope so…can't live on disappointment forever.

Dot

Hey, have the Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament officially adopted the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers's acronymn ("CAPP") as indicated by Ignatieff?

To the members of CAPP,

This Saturday, January 23, thousands of Canadians will attend anti-prorogation rallies…

Maybe ask the latter CAPP representative if they approve. Is Jim Prentice nearby?
http://intensedebate.com/people/David0M David_M.

"Today I am announcing that the New Democrats will bring proposals for legislation…." bring proposals for legislation… what does that mean? the NDP has a veritable bouquet of legislation on prorogation? Hey Jack! is that political prose?
I don't think Ignatieff and the LPC just simply must be running their asses off to get out in front of every political parade in Canada.
In fact, CAPP specifically warns off any party that thinks they're going to score goals on the back of this Canadian grassroots movement.
I'd say Mr. Layton might just incurr the wrath of two hundred and someodd thousand possible voters.

Orson Bean

"CAPP specifically warns off any party that thinks they're going to score goals on the back of this Canadian grassroots movement. "

Isn't that just a tad unrealistic an expectation? I mean, CAPP is emphatically a political movement. It is emphatically opposed to something the Harper govt has done. As are the, umm, opposition parties. At least on this issue, CAPP and the opposition parties are perfectly aligned in terms of their interests and goals. I suppose CAPP can take a position that it's not going to officially endorse any specific opposition party or parties. But CAPP is engaging in politics here, and to think that you can do that and remain lily-white and utterly above the fray (particularly when many of your members and supporters are rabid partisans) is rather naive.

http://intensedebate.com/people/David0M David_M.

Unrealistic, naive – yup all that and more. But the Liberals and NDP salivating at the opportunity and sticking their fingers where they're not wanted could turn the CAPP folks against them.

Orson Bean

But bear in mind, the CAPP folks are hardly one monolithic, homegenous group. There are hard-core LPC partisans among them, hard-core NDP partisans, and then disaffected Tories, utterly independent voters, etc.

You could even get an internecine internal battle going there under some possible scenarios.

http://intensedebate.com/people/David0M David_M.

AH SO, all that is required now would be a few well placed plain clothed officers throwing a coupla stones and epithets and, viola! Arrests all around.
These things happen from time to time

http://intensedebate.com/people/SeanStok SeanStok

Still better than Nation Engraged by Proroguation.

http://intensedebate.com/people/psiclone psiclone

ROFL – brilliant -

kcm

Or even…Canadians Rally Against Prorogation,

Katherine

Maybe the Liberals' problem is not so much being slow off the mark, but seeing this prorogation as something for the party to "capitalize" off of rather than a genuine problem that Canadians should be finding solutions for. It's the fundamental problem of the Liberal party that rather than seeing issues as, well, issues, where the important thing is to do the right thing/find the best solution, and implement it for the good of Canadians, they seem them as means to gain partisan advantage.

I'm not saying the other parties don't do this, but I think the NDP has more of a tendency to look for the solution that they think is right rather than the means of gaining political advantage. The Liberals' problem, now that they're not the only option for a governing party, is that they as a party (there are sincere individuals – my MP Keith Martin is one) don't seem to believe in anything beyond their own political advantage.

What they need is not a new political strategy or effective use of opportunities or even an overarching vision, so much as they need genuine sincerity.
Katherine

Shorter answer: the blogger is missing the point. If the Liberals think this is a good idea, they should support it. If they've got a better idea, they should bring it forward. Either would contribute to the issue. Fussing over the fact that someone proposed the idea before they did isn't useful to anyone.

Orson Bean

I agree Katherine, and it's part of this pattern that I've seen ever since the Liberals lost power to Harper & Co. LPC partisans keep looking for this "game changer" issue that's going to brush the clouds away and give them back the keys to 24 Sussex (there have been a bunch of them — the recession, Swine Flu vaccination, Colvin/Detainees, now prorogation). That sort of mind-set encourages short-term tactical thinking (the blog post is a classic example) over long-term strategy, vision and policy formulation.

orval

Liberals should just leave this "issue" alone. You can no more get rid of prorogation than you can get rid of the Senate, a longstanding NDP position. It would be enough for the Liberals to say that prorogation is a part of our Parliamentary system and, although Ignatieff wouldn't want to use the power as did Harper, nevertheless it is a power available to Prime Ministers.

Having made that point, Ignatieff could have said that the Official Opposition will use the time to prepare for the March 4 budget, which will likely be a very important one as Canada exits recession but enters a period of restraint.

The voters of Massachusetts just sent a huge message to Democrats saying "start listening to us and stop playing political games!" Ignatieff should heed this (wasn't he recently a resident of Massachusetts?) and say the Liberals, unlike the NDP, will not be distracted by political trivia (e.g prorogation) and will concentrate on what really matters to Canadians, jobs, taxes and the economy.

But the Liberals just can't help it. Ignatieff speaks like Harper has just implemented the War Measures Act. They make themselves look petty and stupid (again, like the NDP) by trying to inflate something as trivial and banal as prorogation into a major crisis, which it patently is not.

Canada, its governments and people, along with others, are trying to help a country where 200, 000 people have just been killed, and Ignatieff is still blathering about prorogation? He is obviously not serious about being Leader of the Opposition. It's embarrassing. I actually admired Ignatieff, the author of "Virtual War" and other thought provoking books, once. I thought he would make an excellent Minister of Foreign Affairs. No more.

kcm

You're conflating different events…most Canadians seem to be in disagreement with your take on prorogation.

kcm

OB
I don't really see much from the govt either really. You could say activists from both big parties are diasappointed…it'a bit of an odd situation really. I wonder if it's just the grim realties of minority govt?

Orson Bean

Likely so. Partly also, I suppose, just a product of these times, the fact that in a sense, both major parties are competing for the mushy centre of the political spectrum. It's like a carticature of Canadianness — nobody wants to offend, be bold, or anything like that.

http://intensedebate.com/people/sea_n_mountains sea_n_mountains

I wonder if facebook is down with being an unpaid web-host for the Liberal Party of Canada for its online town halls as opposed to regular traffic…er, never mind…as you were.
Lord Kitchener's Own

I think Facebook would be pleased.

I don't think this town hall is going to crash any servers.

http://intensedebate.com/people/sea_n_mountains sea_n_mountains

sorry LKO, it i was a (unfunny) joke.

orval

Even if that's true (which it isn't) Ignatieff has to rise above it. He wants to be Prime Minister someday. Everyone knows that Prime Ministers will not reduce their powers they have had since before Confederation. If Ignatieff pretends otherwise, he is not credible as a potential future Prime Minister.

He should criticize, but not be stupid about it. He should mock the NDP for wanting to waste Paliament's time with a "anti-prorogation" private members bill when there are real, pressing and important matters to be debated, determined and decided by the real leaders, the PM and the LotO. Layton's not in the game. Ignatieff is, or should be. He's got to start thinking, not reacting and reflexively criticizing trifles.

kcm

You make some good points…now if only we had a PM who was interested in debating important matters…or does he alone get to decide what's important and what too imortant to share with parliament.

orval

The Budget is the most important matter – as a taxpayer I am waiting for Parliament to do its work to ensure our country's proserity

non-partisan

There is little that Parliament can do to ensure our country's prosperity. Canadian's ensure Canada's prosperity. But, I can't wait to see how much funding the Southern Ontario Economic Opportunities Agency gets.

Orson Bean

Time for Southern Ontario to get some Highways to Nowhere of its own. Bring back Dingwall!
http://intensedebate.com/people/Crit_Reasoning Crit_Reasoning

Orson, you should get an IntenseDebate account! It only takes a minute.
Mulletaur

Don't give in, Bean. They'll steal your soul.

http://www.bluelikeyou.com/ Joanne (T.B.)

Facebook townhalls are perfect for Mr. Iffy. He can have a nice sojourn in France and still be in touch.

http://farnwide.blogspot.com/ SteveV

What's really sad, you probably thought that was clever. I grimace FOR you.

Mulletaur

Even without specific policies, some idea of direction would be nice. If you don't know or can't articulate where you want to take the country, you don't get to lead it.
Anon001

To balance this out, Paul may also have to mention "Kate" of SDA as a "widely-read and respected" blogger. Of course, then it wouldn't be saitire.
Orson Bean

yeesh. I meant "caricature".

kcm

Yeah that's a good way to put it…a caricature of Canadianess. And like all mush it satisfies no one. It's almost like they're patronizing all of us.

Orson Bean

I guess we shouldn't complain too much. The stark alternative to that sort of bland quasi-consensus is, e.g., civil war, political parties that are committed to genocide, uber-wacko religious parties, etc. The downside to edginess and excitement.

What has me really concerned, though, is some of the stuff that Jeffrey Simpson has been writing about recently — the possiblity that the particular sort of minority parliament situation that we're in these days is inhibiting us and our political class from honestly addressing some of the really tough issues and challenges we face as a country, such as health care, aging population, the fiscal consequences of our massive stimulus spending binge, etc.

kcm

Too true…i read Simpson when i can, and think he's often bang on [ is it fair to say he and Hebert are the best two pundits not working at Macleans?][ although i understand there are some good journos in Montreal...but for some reason i always forget them] The odd thing as i said before, is that we have a situation where neither big party will take a bold stand on the issues you mentioned…i can't recall a time this has happened before. Strange days indeed. When did our pols become such cowards…or are they reading the national mood correctly? I always thought it was the idea to get out there and lead, or at least prepare the public for bad news…perhaps that's only possible with a majority?
http://intensedebate.com/people/Jack_Mitchell Jack Mitchell

Seriously. I hope it's not a choice between civil war, genocide, etc., on the one hand, and this Minority Parliament Cruise Ship to nowhere, especially given the dismal buffets.

kcm

Don't worrry. That cruise ship's gotta run out of fuel sooner or later…the bads news…we might have to row.
Mulletaur

If it does, they will probably open up the bar. We'll be fine.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Crit_Reasoning Crit_Reasoning

I'm positive that you and Jeffrey Simpson are correct on this point. Many of the long-term issues are completely being ignored, thanks to the political quagmire that Canada seems to be stuck in.

kcm

I wish he'd give me some credit then.
Orson Bean

In that light, it will be interesting whether that upcoming budget finally breaks the logjam we're talking about (cf. today's lead headline in the Globe: "Ottawa to unveil cost-cutting plans in budget"). That might finally force the Liberals to clearly differentiate themselves on the fiscal side of things — even if it results in eyeball-rolling statements and positions from both sides, at least maybe voters would be given some sort of clear choice on a key issue, a la 1988.

common man

Since there doesn`t seem to be a lot of praise for Ignatieff out there today let me just say he has a lot of restrictions on him that Layton will never have. As we all know the NDP will never be in a power position so they can promise the moon and know they will never know any consequences.

. Remember, the NDP are Liberals without any Reason or Accountability. Iggy may want to eliminate prorogation. But his advisors remind him it might be useful to a future minority Liberal gov`t.

Also, the NDP are a professional opposition Party. They are good at it. They don`t study governance at their retreats. The Liberals are a terrible opposition Party. I saw Iggy talking today about his Team like they were ready to go do some governing. Not happening.

tobyornottoby

"Also, the NDP are a professional opposition Party."

There are two current NDP governments provincially, and there are three other provinces that have had NDP governments previously. The federal NDP frequently borrows strategists from their provincial wings. When they have conventions ministers from the provinces are prominent players, and when they have a retreat they most certainly do "study governance" by hearing from their pals in government. But why deal with reality when you can trot out your grandfather's myths as if they are an original idea?

Next you'll be telling us the Conservatives have the edge in running the country's finances because historically they are more fiscally responsible.

common man

You must think we are talking about provincal politics, but thanks for the provincal history lesson.

Now back to the subject: You neglected to tell us when you think the federal NDP will assume power with our new PM Layton. Or maybe you agree with me that they will never win an election but you were just searching for some kind of rebuttal.

Actually, I think one of the mistakes the LIbs make is that they seem to program their opposition strategy after the Professional Opposition Party ( POP). With Rae, Dosanjh, and Dryden leading their charge some days they appear to be just another POP Party.

http://eugeneforseyliberal.blogspot.com EugeneForseyLiberal

NB. re. Wasylycia-Leis, it was Jan 11-12 ish, on either CTV's Power Play or CBC's Power & Politics.

http://eugeneforseyliberal.blogspot.com EugeneForseyLiberal

Jan 11 on CTV's Power Play, pretty sure.

kcm

Blair was an absolute dynamo compared to Ignatieff. Whic is one of my beefs. I don't know if he's lazy. But that's the impression i get – maybe he has a slow metabolism…but i take your point. He has, as have the libs been better recently…can we say yet that Donolo's made a dif?
http://eugeneforseyliberal.blogspot.com EugeneForseyLiberal

Jan 12 actually …best recollection.

http://intensedebate.com/people/jolyon jolyon

I think Iggy and his brain trust should define him as a Statesman. Iggy will be better Parliamentarian/MP/Leader/PM – he will raise standards by behaving like proper leader/pol and not as cynically as the past few leaders have behaved.

Don't worry about policy so much – the country runs itself, there are no great discontents anywhere (except Natives) – and convince people that you are going to take yourself and profession seriously. People are tired of pols and their schoolyard behaviour, they are not concerned about new rules for proroguing.

Iggy focusing on university students is distraction.
wilson

'I think Iggy and his brain trust should define him as a Statesman.'

But that would mean he would have to quit calling
the Prime Minister of Canada, " the guy" or "this guy" ,
and refer to him at least as 'Mister' Harper.

kcm

This could be the first time i've agreed with anything you've written…but does he do it all the time? It's certainly not appropriate…perhaps the PM would be happy with RH tremendiousness[ just kidding]?

http://theplaceofbiff.blogspot.com biff

One point and one question:

1) I called this some time ago. The liberals have no ideological ground to stand on. Over time it makes sense, now that the right is united, for the two natural left and right parties to square off, that party of the left is the NDP. And..

2) Paul Wells, I noticed linking to libbloggers. Query whether conservative bloggers' opinions are worthy of any note…in your eyes?

Dot

You mean like to expose us to some real intellectual insight from blogs like, I dunno,A Great Way to Lower Earth's Temperature ?
http://intensedebate.com/people/Inkless Inkless

No, Einstein. I never link to conservative bloggers. Never in my life have I sent traffic to anyone who would show any conservative idea or movement anything better than the back of his hand. This is because of my all-consuming hatred of all ideas of small government, lower taxation, individual initiative, family, church, self-restraint or skepticism about whatever it is conservatives are skeptical of this week. Yuck. Just writing that list made my lying lieberal leftard hands itch. As the godless God of my godless ilk is my witness, I will never link to a conservative website. Just ask Stephen Taylor. Oops I just wrote Stephen Taylor I think I'm going to be liberal-sick.

Susaan

Ah the love of political approximations dovetails nicely with the myth of a sublimated ego.

http://intensedebate.com/people/BCerInToronto Jeff Jedras

"Michael Ignatieff is going to smite the Conservatives by holding a town hall on his Facebook page."

Yes, a web-based town hall, reaching out to over 200,000 people in the medium in which they've chosen to organize, that's just silly.

He should really have some in person town halls. Say, 11 of them, at universities across the country, where he takes unscripted questions from unscreened Canadians on any topic they want. Not some silly Facebook townhall.

Oh, wait…