shoop

Ken Dryden could make a play for the top job. He might just be successful at it too. A lot depends though. If neither the Martinites nor the Chretienites agree internally on a candidate he will be OK. If either camp picks a *consensus* candidate, the other camp will pick one out of spite. Same old battle fought again. Nay to the rebuilding process.

Agreed, how about this for a fourth *credible* name? Allan Rock. So you end up with three guys (Igantieff, Rae and Rock) having a serious shot at it. Then you have Tobin running *just* to screw Brison out of a ton of maritime support. Leaving Stronach and Brison as *other* candidates. Odds are one, or both, don't even make it to the convention.

Wow, that is bitter. I honestly believed McKenna when he said he didn't want to commit the time to it. He is *not* posturing. He honestly doesn't want to spend the time required to get the Liberal ship righted ... a decade. Can't say as I blame him....

Dryden's name has come up. Maybe his missteps as a rookie MP and Cabinet Minister will be forgotten. Hmmm, that could work for them, but is he ready for the big job this fast?

First Manley, then McKenna. Just announced that he won't be running for the *big* job. Supposed reasons: worried about how he would be seen in Quebec, huge Liberal Party of Canada debt, looking for balance in his life. Seems like it is all coming down to lifestyle. Cool decision, but take a look at the list of potential candidates from CTV. 1. Scott Brison (Uhhhh, didn't he run for the Progressive Conservative leadership?) 2. Belinda Stronach (Uhhhh, didn't she run for the Conservative leadership?) 3. Bob Rae (Uhhhh, wasn't he the *NDP* Premier of Ontario?) 4. Michael Igantieff (Uhhhh, he hasn't even been sworn in as an *MP* yet, has he?) 5. Brian Tobin (Uhhhh, the *big name* on the list?) Wow, what a sad list. Natural Governing Party of Canada? Whatever? Does anybody else want this job?

It is simply the sad, sad attempt of the left to start fighting campaign 2008 here and now. This is not a story for any *persuadable/non or conservative voter*. Already out of the news. Again look at the tape of the return from the hospital. There was *one* reporter there. Conveniently from the CBC. No story there. Take a look, even CBC has dropped the story. If this is going to be the left's *evidence* of Harper's lacking in ethics it looks like a majority CPC government next time around.

Time to lose the aroogance BM. You are in opposition now.

There was nothing *secretive* about the trip at all....

This is the mindset Liberals *have* to change. A leadership convention shouldn't be about *crushing* anybody. The Liberals really need to find their ideological raison d'etre. There should be a full and vigorous debate. With a hard, but fairly fought, campaign. Anoininting a leader this early gets you another PM Dithers. No policy vision, simply offering a mish mash of policies that doesn't *really* tell the voters where you want to take the country. Honestly, a Frank McKenna coronation is probably the best thing that could happen to the CPC.

This incident is a painful example of the CBC out for blood already. Julie Van Dusen was the only reporter questioning him on his return from the hospital. Why was only one news organization present? Any coincidence that it was the broadcast organization most often accused of a bias against Harper? The symptoms for an asthmaattack and a chest cold would likely be pretty similar. Sadly, other news organizations had to follow CBCs terrible lead.

Touche. The more centrist Canadian right really don't like your Coulter's, Mark Steyn's and Levant's. We would, at times, be more comfortable in the Democratic Party. That is why it is equally sad to see Al Gore's outburst against our win. But the hard right have to realize that the centrist-right is needed to maintain power in Canada. We were on the cusp of a majority but didn't get it. One has to wonder if *fear* of the further right played a role in the narrow miss...

Wow. Does anyone have a link to that?

OK. Truce?

Monty, Man you gotta chill. FTA and I have both been sympathetic to the CPC on this board. Just because we find the American neocon's too much for us doesn't mean that we can't support the CPC. If you would have actually read the comments to the article instead of just throwing your little tantrum you would have seen that there was quite the negative reaction to the article. Completely, and 100% agreed.

Interesting, but unlikely. It would have to be someone high profile enough who *could* conceivably run for the leadership but definitely doesn't want to. This rules out Belinda and Scott. My guess is that Bill Graham gets the interim tag.

This seems like shrewd politics. The Conservative's promised to Why not work towards fulfilling a promise in his platform during his first press conference as PM-designate?

Hmm, I was pointing out the basic hypocrisy in Chimera's post. If you want to pick on somebody and threaten them with violence for using a word they don't like have the balls to do so when you aren't hidden behind your computer screen. Why are you calling me immature? I stood up to Chimera for his tough talk threatening to *beat* people for using a name he didn't like. He than questioned my intellectual ability to comprehend his higher level points. That arrogance is pretty sad. Was his behaviour mature? How exactly was I the one who started the fight? What is wrong with the standard of decency that the laws, and not a resort to violence by one's own standards of decency? Do you find no fault with any of Chimera's posts?

The only way your 80% of all Canadians live in *urban centres* works is if you count the GTA, not just the City of Toronto and the Lower Mainland, not just the City of Vancouver. Sooo uh no, the Conservatives weren't shout out of either of those areas.... Or do you want to backtrack on the 80% figure?

Tsk, tsk that Stephen Harper toadying to the Liberals already. Ohhh wait. He stood up to them and put Wilkins in his place. One ... step ... closer ... to ... a ... CPC ... majority.

Agreed. I am of two minds about this one. It is probably better for the Conservatives if the Liberals have a quicky (late spring, early summer) leadership convention, policy convention in the fall then anoint McKenna. Because that means another truly untested leader at the national level who could make Martin-esque or Turner-esque gaffes at the top. However, better for the Liberals to have their policy convention in the spring then their leadership in the fall. This will give second-tier (i.e. not McKenna) candidates the chance to run and it would actually force McKenna to *earn* the leadership.

What? Anne's career has not been adversely affected at all due to her time in government. She will likely be a leading candidate for the permanent Dean of the Faculty of Law in any university in the country. She might even be considered for the Presidency of some Universities, despite not having a doctorate. (Remember she only served as *acting* dean at the U of A) Maxing out her pension at the U of A would never have allowed her to retire this young and collect anywhere near the money she is collecting from the Parliamentary pension scheme.

The beauty of it is if you compare Harper's 2006 platform to Gore's 2000 platform you would find Gore's to be far more *socially* conservative. Ahhh hypocrisy you gotta love it.

Ann Coulter is nasty, on sooooo many levels. Her views are reprehensible, self-centered and childish. Here is a very interesting column, albeit not very politically correct, by a U.S. leftie on Salon.com. Salon.com Coulter article...

They *almost* got 2.3% of the vote in Winnipeg South Centre and *close to* 4% of the vote in Brome-Miissisquoi. I hear you though. Rumours fly around a campaign and if there are races in a region you aren't familiar with you can believe them without any support for the rumour. Or any idea how ridiculous the rumour is.

Shhhh Hicksey, Chimera will accuse you of *semantics* obliquely threaten to *beat you* than try to backtrack from his threat. Still no apology for the neanderthals, sexist and socially backwards comments. Interesting how it is fair to call someone *backwards* just because they hold different views from you.