Er, What Ignatieff Meant to Say- August 31, 2006 Brison called it.Ignatieff is an "error prone amateur".While Ignatieff may feel, or may actually be, two-feet smarter than everyone else in the campaign (except for Dion), he's learning that book-smarts only take you so far in the bizzaro world of party politics. Time and time again, Ignatieff creates problems for himself by wandering off message with throw away comments that land him in trouble.In a campaign team as slick and experienced as the one Iggy has assembled, this must be a cause for..http://liberalleadership06.blogspot.com/2006/08/er-what-ignatieff-meant-to-say.html Iggy May Take His Ball and Go Home- August 30, 2006 Michael Ignatieff may not run again as a Liberal if he doesn't win the leadership campaign. "Depends who's leader," Ignatieff said yesterday when asked at a meeting with the Toronto Star editorial board if he would run for the party in the next election if he loses the leadership vote in early December.Oh Iggy. Bad idea jeans.Your credibility as a Liberal is only slightly better than Bob Rae's, so saying you're only here for the top job - although undoubtedly true - doesn't exactly paint you as.http://liberalleadership06.blogspot.com/2006/08/iggy-may-take-his-ball-and-go-home.html Valpy on Ignatieff- August 28, 2006 You don't have to be a sophisticated shrink to see that the Globe and Mail's Michael Valpy may be projecting his life's disappointments onto Liberal leadership Candidate Michael Ignatieff.In a very long, sometimes interesting piece, Valpy slips the dagger into Ignatieff again and again. Of course, Iggy opened the door with his "sensitive man" shtick:I think there are people who would say I've been very ruthless in my life. I am someone who has worried greatly about the price my ruthlessness has.http://liberalleadership06.blogspot.com/2006/08/valpy-on-ignatieff.html Ugly!- August 24, 2006 It's been a ugly few days all 'round for the Liberal Party.Toronto MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj's remarks criticizing Israel cast fresh light on the apparent divisions in the party on Mideast policy. Gerard Kennedy, who Wrzesnewskyj supports, was put on the defensive and forced to issue a statement confirming his opposition to Hezbollah.Under pressure, Wrzesnewskyj resigned his post as associate foreign affairs critic. But damage has been done - witness the satirical websites that have already sprung..http://liberalleadership06.blogspot.com/2006/08/ugly.html Kennedy's Hezbollah Problem- August 23, 2006 The Liberal caucus meetings are underscoring divisions about the Party's Mideast policies.The latest furor over the summer's hot-button issue of the Mideast war came after Toronto MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj, associate foreign affairs critic, said he doesn't understand why the government can't "communicate" with Hezbollah, even though it is on the list of terrorist organizations. On a trip to Lebanon organized by the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations, Wrzesnewskyj (Etobicoke-Centre) also...http://liberalleadership06.blogspot.com/2006/08/kennedys-hezbollah-problem.html Iggy's Carbon Tax- August 21, 2006 Michael Ignatieff releases his environmental plan today in Vancouver. A key plank is what is effectively a carbon tax. Somewhere, Stephen Harper is smiling. OK, probably not smiling, let's not go that far, but he is surely happy. Iggy is also admitting Canada can't meet its Kyoto targets but is offering a new set of targets. Great message discipline. That should clear up that otherwise complex issue...Iggy was also making friends in the Maritimes. He visited PEI where he donned an Anne of Green.http://liberalleadership06.blogspot.com/2006/08/iggys-carbon-tax.html Can Dion Win- August 17, 2006 With Michael Ignatieff failing to gain momentum, and, according to some, actually losing it, is mercurial Quebecer Stephane Dion the one to watchWhile Rae scores some buzz points for the Maurizio endorsement, he has not fired up the party's grassroots. Instead, his support is confined to a group of senior citizen party elites, fondly remembering the Trudeau era over mint julips at their summer homes.Of course, most Liberals don't use "summer" as a verb and it still seems unlikely that Rae can...http://liberalleadership06.blogspot.com/2006/08/can-dion-win.html Campaign Awakens from Slumber- August 16, 2006 Maurizio Bevilacqua's decision to drop out and throw his modest support to Liberal arriveste Bob Rae seems to have awoken the campaigns from their nice summer nap.So whither Ignatieff The presumed front-runner has generated recent mindshare largely through a series of gaffes. Surely it's not possible he's losing ground to RaeIggy to Brison: What cabinet post would you likeOf course, with a large number of candidates meaning a larger number of ballots, anything can happen. That's how Joe Clark...http://liberalleadership06.blogspot.com/2006/08/campaign-awakens-from-slumber.html We're Back! Maurizio's Out!- August 15, 2006 Internet service at the LLC's summer family compound is spotty so we took a few weeks off. Not that much happened in the slow moving trainwreck that is the Liberal Leadership race. Yawn.But wait, there is news. Maurizio Bevilacqua finally saw the handwriting on the wall and withdrew from the race, throwing his "support" to Sideshow Bob Rae. It is surely a tough move for Maurizio who was a loyal Martinite during the tough days, only to be rebuffed when Martin came to power.So in a summer of no...http://liberalleadership06.blogspot.com/2006/08/were-back-maurizios-out.html |