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I'm just interested how dude can spend hours a day on this board and never post an intelligent thought...

Hey LIB quit being such a dink and answer the questions!

I think she is being merely guilty of being overly optimistic. While what she says in this sentence is true "No opposition party or major political voice has, so far, called on Jean to forsake the appointment or on Paul Martin to reconsider it." It is only because the opposition leaders/major political voices are all waiting for Jean to come out with her statement before saying something. The element of the Canadian public that is interested in this story are simply waiting to hear what Jean has to say for herself. A good test of her political saavy. If she can't talk her way out of this jam then she really doesn't deserve to be GG. My vibe is that Jean is a little better than 50/50 to step down at this point.

??

Dude, wtf? This is a message board about politics. Of course everyone here thinks they are political geniuses. How typically Liberal. Too dense and lazy to even troll properly. I am a supporter of the CPC and I can give a ton of names that the Liberals would rather have as leader of the Conservatives. Myron Thompson. Never happen in a million years, but by God would it be funny. He'd come off worse than Stockdale did in the U.S. Vice Presidential debate in 1992. I think I would vote Green in that case. Ralph Klein Unilingual, red-necked Albertan. How easy is he to vilify? Mike Harris The old golf pro wouldn't have that much pull in Ontario. Hated in Quebec and might actually lose the party seats in the west. Belinda Stronach Unilingual, capitalist money-grabbing opportunist. Oh wait, she could end up leading the Liberals one day....

I think it is cruel and unusual punishment that corrections authorities force Cameron to wear those terribly unfashionable glasses.

Not all, just the Martinites. And the Sheila Coppsesque lefties...

The whole ball of wax, however you want to term it. Using Paul Wells as a barometer of conventional wisdom it is pretty easy to see how quickly things have gone from fawning to desperate for Michaelle Jean. Posted by Paul Wells on August 4th. "If the rumours are true, then Paul Martin has made, in Michaëlle Jean, an absolutely spectacular choice for Governor General. A good day for our prime minister. A good day for our country." In twleve little days the spectacular choice has become... Posted by Paul Wells on August 16th. "Michaëlle Jean may yet be able to save her appointment. It is only proper that she be allowed to try." So when Jean steps down (gets pushed) is it still Quebec's turn?

Treat the U.S. with respect and build a healthy relationship. That doesn't mean bending over and taking it up the arse. When Mulroney chose NOT to participate in Star Wars he did it the right way. Called Reagen directly and explained that he couldn't take part for practical reasons back home. Martin was a complete dick to Bush over the issue. There was no reason for Martin to string Bush along for so long on WMD. If he had handled their relationship more professionally from day one, it would probably be healthier. How to handle it more professionally? Call Bush and tell him personally. Don't announce it in a press conference. You say we sell our oil to the Chinese? Ahhh, who bears the huge cost of shipping? Alberta oil producers? Great idea. So Alberta takes it up the arse so Jack Layton can make a stand agianst the U.S. Potential Prime Ministers should at least pretend to represent the entire country. Do you honestly think the U.S. would give up the softwood lumber duties because of that move? What is to stop them from using that cash to subsidize oil imports? Get the point. The U.S. economy is ten times the size of ours. They will win everytime we try and force a pissing contest. Layton is just pandering to retarded reactionaries such as yourself who have no idea about economics, but think Canada is better everytime we 'slap the U.S. in the face.' Grow up!

Gotta love the Liberal. Even in his trolling he shows how close-minded the Liberal Party of Canada is.

The Canadian Association of Journalists covers reputable pollsters in their code of ethics. "We should use polls prominently only when we know the full context of the results: the names of the sponsor and the polling agency; the population from which the sample was drawn; the sample size, margin of error, type of interview; the dates when the poll was taken and the exact wording and order of the questions. When possible we should broadcast or publish this information. Polls commissioned by special interest groups and politically sponsored think tanks and institutes are especially suspect. It is easy to frame questions or choose a sample designed to produce an answer favourable to a point of view." Gregg's polls get used prominently, ergo they have met the above criteria. Dude, the analogy to the Enron/Arthur Andersen scandal is tenous and lame. Most big pollsters in Canada do political work as a means of building name recognition for the big money ... market research.

Does anybody remember Layton's promise right after the election that the Liberals would get no support from his caucus without solid strides being made in democratic reform? Bought off for a one-time cash payment. shine on you crazy diamond!

Hmm, you used the automatic "put the conservative in his place" line by referring to us as fascists. How bout taking a good long look in the mirror dickhead. (It is ok for me to call you that after you called me a dickhead first, isn't it?)

The Liberals could be facing a boatload of problems in the fall. The Canadian Medical Association is meeting to discuss healthcare and they look like they are ready to endorse private care. The story about Michaelle Jean's separatist leanings definitely has legs. Kinsella had the best quote of the day about Jean: "I could be up in Ottawa, sitting around a boardroom table, wondering who the Hell ever thought it was a good idea to hand a crypto-separatist the keys to Rideau Hall." I don't even understand what he means by crypto-separatist. Just know it is another nail in Mr. Dithers coffin.

You also have to remember that oil rigs themelsves are scarce resources. If Layton's folly were to become reality, watch how quickly rigs head north to Alaska and south to Texas. Buh bye Alberta boom. But really what are the odds of Jack Layton ever becoming PM? Less than Harper, even in Mirror and THELIBERAL's fantasy worlds.

Come on jack*ss. Enouigh already with your whiney 'report him' advice. Please be a little imaginative with the insults?

Thanks LIB. Although you use those annoying smilies far too much.

Did the Liberals replace the GST as they vowed to in the 1993 election? NO

Yeah Lib. wtf is your response to the question? The GST is much better for the economy than the manufacturers sales tax it replaced. You are trying to point to a TWELVE year old tax that your party has not touched and blame it on the Conservatives? What about the cancelling of the Avro Arrow? That was fifty years ago. Isn't that a good reason not to vote conservative? Or what about John A. being a drunk? Isn't that a good reason not to vote conservative?

You like minority governments and having to buy off Belinda Stronach to stay in power? Why were you talking about winning a record number of seats before the 2004 election?

Really? Do tell where they pick up the seats. They will hold in the Atlantic provinces, but that is it. In Quebec they will be lucky to win 15 seats, six down from 2004. Ontario anywhere from 50 to 75 seats. In spite of their big poll numbers Ontario does not look good for them. All the support the CPC picked up during the start of Adscam has bled to the NDs. (counter-intuitive, yes but that's the way it goes.) Let's be generous and say the CPC loses five seats that the NDs pick up. Net break even for the Liberals in their best case scenario. The Prairies. Hmmm not a liberal bastion. We'll be nice and say they hold the six seats they won in 04. Kilgour's seat in Edmonton-Beaumont is lost. Only held it on the strength of his personality. We'll give them one pickup in SK. Which nets out at zero in the prairies. We'll say the Libs have big momentum in BC. Pick up 10 seats. (Big stretch.) That boosts the Liberals up to 140 seats in an absolutely best case scenario for them. Another minority which means that both Mr. Dithers and Harper lose their gigs. Where are these 18 to 20 seats I am missing?

Generally speaking, I like Wells' blog. Definitely the best source for unbiased stuff in the Canadian media. I agree with a lot of the stuff he writes about lack of civility in Canadian politics. But sometimes he goes on pretty weird and freaky tangents. In June there were a couple days when he got into online fights with readers because he took offence to their emails. Uhhh, more appropriate for a message board than a blog methinks. (sorry Mad Mikey) His diatribes on jazz are sorta blah blah. But I think he realizes that they aren't to the liking of most of his readers. Same thing with the research tangents. Some of his writing on the media, especially the Post is a little too "inside baseball" for my liking. All in all he's a good read though.

We are. Hey THELIB, did you really think squeaking through with a minority in 2004 was a good win for Mr. Dithers? Put it on the record here and now. How many seats do you think he has to win in the 2006 election for it to be considered a victory?

That is totally and utterly the best thing for the CPC. The only thing that saved the Liberals in 2004 was stealing ND votes. If the NDs go full-barrel after Martin he will have to swing to the left which will leave huge tracts of land for Harper to get votes. Thanks for the help.

Ahhh, but you forget the basic rule of the Liberal Party of Canada. Anything Harper does EVER is automatically spun as being bad, racist, intolerant and/or a sign that he wouldn't make a good Prime Minister. Buh bye Mr. Dithers. Six months and counting down. You really have avenged your father.