Who is Michael Ignatieff Anyway?

[tamtam10]

He's a lot more than just the interim leader for the Liberal Party. You can read a good biography here:

Profile: Michael Ignatieff

[Borg]

He's a lot more than just the interim leader for the Liberal Party. You can read a good biography here:

Profile: Michael Ignatieff

Born into money - educated - lived a great portion of his life outside Canada. Never professed any interest in returning until there was a possiblity he could buy his way into power.

Really in touch with this country - knows how the average Canadian lives - knows how to balance a middle income budget and still send the kids to hockey, figure skating, soccer and gymnastics.

For sure he knows what is best for Canada - after all, he is a staunch Canadian and has had to clean the dirt from under his fingernails after a hard day on the farm/in the factory while paying his way through college.

Certainly understands how difficult it is to make ends meet after working a 55 hour week - including weekends and nights in the retail industry - dealing with difficult customers and a cranky cash register.

Relates easily to the wo/man on the street. Is likeable and friendly. Shows his caring nature at all times to those who struggle to pay their taxes.

Relentless in pursuing a better Canada for those who have had no chance at an education paid for by family members meaning they are unable to afford the PHD - after all, they have to eat somehow.

Probably has never worried one day in his life about how to heat the house and still feed the family while hoping the engine problem on his old car will not cost a months pay to be fixed.

Canada will be well and truly f***ed up if this kind and trustworthy soul ever makes it to PM.

Of all of the people running with knives to cut the lib party leadership apart - this is the one most dangerous man in Canada.

An opportunist who could not be trusted to protect anything except his own self interests.

I think the bio missed a lot of "little" things.

Borg

Edited December 20, 2008 by Borg

[Mr.Canada]

Borg, that was perfect. Keep it up. Posters on this board dislike the truth and fact unless it's facts based on the left.

[Jerry J. Fortin]

I think there are an equal number of lefties and righties in this forum........

[Topaz]

Borg, that was perfect. Keep it up. Posters on this board dislike the truth and fact unless it's facts based on the left.

Have you read Harper's bio? I went back a reread it and now I see why he is very pro American, against certain women groups,the connections between him and Clements, why Day is in the cabinet as a minister, his issues on the environment etc.

[Mr.Canada]

Have you read Harper's bio? I went back a reread it and now I see why he is very pro American, against certain women groups,the connections between him and Clements, why Day is in the cabinet as a minister, his issues on the environment etc.

The Americans are our biggest trading partners fyi we should be very pro AMerican. They have a recession and the whole world get a cold too. The USA has massive buying power and can directly effect the entire world as we are witnessing right now. What's good for the USA is good for Canada too for the most part.

[ThatGuy]

I think there are an equal number of lefties and righties in this forum........

I highly doubt that.

[fellowtraveller]

I highly doubt that.

Ignoring the facts, again. Another hallmark of the left.........

Check the 'who would you vote for' poll, it is 55% CPC vs 45% parties of the left. That is pretty close to equal.

[stignasty]

Ignoring the facts, again. Another hallmark of the left.........

Check the 'who would you vote for' poll, it is 55% CPC vs 45% parties of the left. That is pretty close to equal.

Jumping to conclusions based on specious data, again. Another hallmark of the right.........

[Borg]

Have you read Harper's bio? I went back a reread it and now I see why he is very pro American, against certain women groups,the connections between him and Clements, why Day is in the cabinet as a minister, his issues on the environment etc.

A typical, expected and certainly not well thought out response from you.

Divert, hijack and attempt to change the topic in order to delay or even belay the truth.

Why don't you start your own thread on Mr. Harper?

That way we can all see what you really think.

Hmmmm ..... I think you have said it many times before - a broken record perhaps?

Perhaps you might like to add your enlightened comments on the titled person?

Or better - you might try staying on track - at least for today.

Have a nice day - Merry Christmas to you and yours,

Borg

[Mr.Canada]

The Socialists will do anything to deflect the reality that this man is in Canada only to be PM no other reason.

[Keepitsimple]

The Socialists will do anything to deflect the reality that this man is in Canada only to be PM no other reason.

There is no doubt whatsoever that he was lured back to Canada by the Liberal backroom boys led by Senator Ian Davey.

[capricorn]

I'm still having difficulty situating Ignatieff in the political sphere. He has shown snippets but so far, his musings are not persuading me to switch my vote to the Liberals.

How cooperative will he be in designing the government's upcoming budget?

And as federal Liberal leader—the job he landed sooner than expected at the end of the recent parliamentary crisis—economic policy is his first priority. He’s not in a mood, though, to fill in all the blanks when asked exactly what ideas he wants Prime Minister Stephen Harper to adopt in next month’s recession-battling budget. “I want to be constructive,” Ignatieff told Maclean’s, “but I don’t see any particular reason why I should be especially helpful.”

(emphasis mine)

No reason to be helpful???? The Loyal Opposition is supposed to oppose, no argument there. But for all the yelling and screaming that Harper must listen to the needs of Canadians (via the opposition, of course) in these unprecedented times, why does he not want to have a hand in forging the upcoming budget? There's posturing, then there's the duty to come to the aid of the country, I would think.

Next, what does Ignatieff look for by way of economic stimulus?

Ignatieff revealed just enough in an interview to leave no doubt he’s adopting the stance of a classic, centre-straddling Liberal. He argues that an economic stimulus package should put money in the pockets of the low-income Canadians who are bound to spend it. “There are all kinds of ways that we could pump money into this economy that, unless targeted, will just go to people who have disposable income anyway,” he said. “The trick is to get stimulus to the people who’ve got little disposable income, so they can keep their families afloat, and, in doing so, keep the economy afloat.”

Casting the stimulus package as a chance to redistribute wealth puts Ignatieff squarely in the camp of social-justice Liberals. But he placed just as much emphasis on using stimulative spending to reward companies for boosting productivity during the downturn. “We have to think about how we seize opportunity here,” he added, “to become more energy-efficient, to produce cars that people actually want to buy, to commercialize R & D, to invest in infrastructure that is badly needed, to address the productivity challenge that we’ve talked about for 10 years.”

(emphasis mine)

He's straddling between targeting money to lower income individuals and rewarding productive businesses. Spoken like a true politician, i.e. pleasing everybody. Same old, same old.

More detail might, or might not, be forthcoming from the Liberals before Flaherty tables his budget late next month. “On a parallel track we are developing our own plan,” McCallum said. “How and when that will be deployed is a matter to be determined in the future.” Ignatieff refused to be pinned down. “I think we will have some constructive suggestions to make in early January,” he said. “But I have to stress: we’re the Opposition, they’re the government.”

http://blog.macleans.ca/2008/12/24/a-lesson-in-iggynomics/2/

Finally, he maintains Big Bertha is ready to swing.

"They've not shown economic leadership up to this point," he said. "The budget is their last shot, their last chance, and I think Canadians are entitled to have an alternative government, a coalition government, ready to take their place if they fail this last chance to get economic leadership right."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...tional/Ontario/

To recap, "not especially helpful", money for everybody and the threat of the coalition tucked in his back pocket. That about sums up what I have learned about the new Liberal leader's grand plan.

[Cameron]

Canada would be boring without people like you Borg. Nice addition to the bio.

[Progressive Tory]

Michael Ignatieff is Canada's Barak Obama. A star. He is not right or left, but centre with the ability to unite Canadians. Harper is credited with independantly uniting the right and the left but in doing that, he divided the country. We need a voice of reason to bring both sides together.

If the Conservatives are the right wing and the NDP the left wing, then the Liberals will be the backbone and Ignatieff the head. Despite claims, the Liberals are not hippies or socialists. Many are Pro-Life, most are Christians, but all are elected Canadians with a vast array of opinions and ideas.

Despite being out of the country he was not in jail, but writing books, teaching at universities, making films and heading up the Human Rights department at Harvard. Obama was top of his class at Harvard and Ignatieff will be able to meet with him at his level. With the country and indeed the world in crisis, we need intellect. We need great minds to turn things around.

It's not the time for Tim Horton's drinking, sweater wearing, salt in your beer leaders.

We need people we can look up to and know that they are the best there is. Michael Ignatieff brings that to the table.

As a Red Tory he is not just the best choice, but the only choice for me. Maybe he can convince Jim Prentice and Rhona Ambrose to cross the floor. They look so out of place.

[Keepitsimple]

Michael Ignatieff is Canada's Barak Obama. A star. He is not right or left, but centre with the ability to unite Canadians. Harper is credited with independantly uniting the right and the left but in doing that, he divided the country. We need a voice of reason to bring both sides together.

If the Conservatives are the right wing and the NDP the left wing, then the Liberals will be the backbone and Ignatieff the head. Despite claims, the Liberals are not hippies or socialists. Many are Pro-Life, most are Christians, but all are elected Canadians with a vast array of opinions and ideas.

Despite being out of the country he was not in jail, but writing books, teaching at universities, making films and heading up the Human Rights department at Harvard. Obama was top of his class at Harvard and Ignatieff will be able to meet with him at his level. With the country and indeed the world in crisis, we need intellect. We need great minds to turn things around.

It's not the time for Tim Horton's drinking, sweater wearing, salt in your beer leaders.

We need people we can look up to and know that they are the best there is. Michael Ignatieff brings that to the table.

As a Red Tory he is not just the best choice, but the only choice for me. Maybe he can convince Jim Prentice and Rhona Ambrose to cross the floor. They look so out of place.

I guess that means you like him? Time will tell how Canadians warm to Ignatieff and how his own party warms to him. Lets not forget that he IS a professor and as with Dion, the persona of a professor brings the usual superiority complex and condescending attitude. It may take time to fully reveal itself, but it's there already for anyone who chooses to see. His priviledged, patrician upbringing and dis-connect from Canada will likely not play well outside of Quebec - who seem to like cosmopolitan personalities. Your reference to Prentice and Ambrose is interesting - they represent the modern brand of Conservatism and there are plenty more in the party - down-to-earth people who can connect with Canadians at the grass roots. A man of intellect, he might be....but the Liberals need a team-builder.....Professors simply don't have real-world experience at building teams and motivating people on a day-to-day basis. Once the initial rah-rah of a new leader dies down and the collective euphoria of ousting Dion wanes, Ignatieff's inexperience will become obvious. There are plenty of "intellects" in the world. Not surprisingly, the vast majority are professors or authors - not leaders. Those that can, do. Those that can't, teach. There is some validity to that often mis-used phrase.

PS: my wife just asked me....if Ignatieff is so great, why wasn't he chosen two years ago?

[Jerry J. Fortin]

The Liberals have chosen a good leader. At least this one is better than the last one,in my opinion. The thing to remember is that he is only an opposition leader at the moment, his function is to say no the government. Keep in mind the economy is in bad shape the dollar is under pressure and the budget likely will not balance. These are not good times at all, and things will not likely turn around for months if not years. Its actually a good time to be the leader of the opposition. Lots of things to criticize and no responsibility to carve an effective path through a political minefield of issues.

All he has to say to Harper is; "Ya really think this will work Steve?"

All Harper has to say is;" You bet, it is in the best interest of Canadians"

So Iggy can look like he is supporting the government and gets to avoid the responsibility. Anybody care to bet that Iggy will dodge many a bullet this way?

[capricorn]

So Iggy can look like he is supporting the government and gets to avoid the responsibility. Anybody care to bet that Iggy will dodge many a bullet this way?

This may be what Iggy has in mind. But how will that sit with those in his caucus who are power hungry and want to dethrone Harper at any cost? For Iggy's plan to work, the Liberal caucus must be united.

[Alta4ever]

Who is Micheal Ignatieff?

he is an American, I am half his age and spent more time in Canada than he has.

As for those who think he is a star give me a break.

Edited December 30, 2008 by Alta4ever

[Progressive Tory]

I guess that means you like him? Time will tell how Canadians warm to Ignatieff and how his own party warms to him. Lets not forget that he IS a professor and as with Dion, the persona of a professor brings the usual superiority complex and condescending attitude. It may take time to fully reveal itself, but it's there already for anyone who chooses to see. His priviledged, patrician upbringing and dis-connect from Canada will likely not play well outside of Quebec - who seem to like cosmopolitan personalities. Your reference to Prentice and Ambrose is interesting - they represent the modern brand of Conservatism and there are plenty more in the party - down-to-earth people who can connect with Canadians at the grass roots. A man of intellect, he might be....but the Liberals need a team-builder.....Professors simply don't have real-world experience at building teams and motivating people on a day-to-day basis. Once the initial rah-rah of a new leader dies down and the collective euphoria of ousting Dion wanes, Ignatieff's inexperience will become obvious. There are plenty of "intellects" in the world. Not surprisingly, the vast majority are professors or authors - not leaders. Those that can, do. Those that can't, teach. There is some validity to that often mis-used phrase.

PS: my wife just asked me....if Ignatieff is so great, why wasn't he chosen two years ago?

He's more than a professor...he's an author, humanitarian and filmaker. Recent polls have Ignatieff at 28% and Harper at 27%. Stephen Harper has never been able to connect with ordinary Canadians. He ran successful attack ads agains Mr. Dion but the fact that he was a professor did not turn off voters. It was the silly push polling and 'boogey-man' carbon tax that did that.

However, while the attack ads hurt the Liberals the real loser was Democracy because the campaign was so ugly that record numbers of voters stayed home. That is Harper's legacy.

I admit that I have been looking at other people in the CP as moderates but really haven't found any. Do you know of other Red Tories who are honest and moderate?

BTW. To your wife: Hi. Do you always look over your husband's shoulder while he types? LOL. (Because I do, MY husband's that is). Michael Ignatieff was in the lead but Mr. Dion and Gerard Kennedy had a deal that whichever was ahead by the third or fourth vote, I can't remember which, they'd throw theirs in. Combined, they had enough so Mr. Dion was named leader. It was quite a shocker but that happens some times.

[guyser]

Who is Micheal Ignatieff?

Judging by what is printed next, apparently you dont. American? LOL Maybe you want to try British?

Dont rely on Mr C for your info.

[Alta4ever]

Judging by what is printed next, apparently you dont. American? LOL Maybe you want to try British?

Dont rely on Mr C for your info.

Really where has he spent the majority of his life, Harvard, last i checked that was in the US.

He has written papers that have started We Americans.......so tell me again what I do and do not know.

[ToadBrother]

Really where has he spent the majority of his life, Harvard, last i checked that was in the US.

He has written papers that have started We Americans.......so tell me again what I do and do not know.

There's a very real irony in Conservatives bitching because a Liberal leader is too American; for both parties.

[Oleg Bach]

Iggy is much like Trudeau. He is an acedemic and social engineer - a hobbist who looks upon humanity as his personal experiment.

[guyser]

Really where has he spent the majority of his life, Harvard, last i checked that was in the US.

Yikes. ....

5 yrs in the US. Unless he is 9 yrs old or less, then I guess "majority" doesnt ring true. Harvard is in the US, so good one that.

However , 22 years in the UK might make a majority....might.

He has written papers that have started We Americans.......so tell me again what I do and do not know.

The latter half of that list would be too long, at least respects Ignatieff