Their leadership woes and resultant pathetic campaign are entirely their own fault, after all. I know hindsight is a wonderful thing but it’s hard to imagine now why they would have picked Stephane Dion as leader.
Liberal leadership has never really been about choosing the best party leader thought; that’s always taken a back seat to finding the most politically correct, most broadly-appealing person possible. That’s why, except for a brief hiccup with John Turner (Pierre Trudeau remains in a class of his own), the liberals have always rewarded bland.
Looking back now at Gerard Kennedy, Bob Rae and Michael Ignatieff, that’s certainly what they ended up with.
So Dion wears the crown, and is probably going to preside over a liberal defeat of historic proportions.
Not being a politician, it is inconceivable to me how Gerard Kennedy could say “I mean this, there is a Stephane Dion to be seen and appreciated that’s not yet fully on display,” without gagging. How many years do you think it will take for the full display, Gerard? Twenty? Forty?
This is like watching Kim Campbell self-destruct all those years ago. Please let it be over soon.