At Home in Hespeler

True democracy only has one choice. Therefore, Bob Rae is bowing out of the leadership race.

Bob Rae has told his supporters in a conference call Tuesday that he will end his bid for the Liberal leadership, CTV News has learned.

CTV’s Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife confirmed Tuesday that Rae will not challenge frontrunner Michael Ignatieff — virtually ensuring that Ignatieff will become Liberal leader.

Rae is expected to formally confirm his withdrawal from the race at a press conference at 3 p.m. ET in Ottawa.

I don’t like Bob Rae, and Michael Ignatieff may be the best choice for leader. But if I’m a Liberal today, I wonder what happened to my party that a guy who lived and worked in the United States his entire adult life, is the only guy in the race to lead my party.

Frankly, the Liberals talk about renewal, but without the debate that a leadership race brings, how do you achieve renewal?

History may show that Stéphane Dion did far more damage to the Liberal party than can currently be imagined.

Michael Ignatieff, Silly Liberals, Stephane Dion

I simply can’t imagine PM Stephen Harper having his security detail pushing a reporter out of the way, then Harper telling that reporter, “the last one I want to speak first is (name the network), do you understand that?” and the reporter spends the rest of his air time defending Harper.

Why do I suspect the next minute would be what a bully Harper is, not what a classy guy he is. So I’ll say it: between Elizabeth May’s concession speech and this clip of Stéphane Dion, Canadians got an abject lesson in gracelessness last night.

graceless politicians, Stephane Dion

Humour, it's not easy being green, Stephane Dion

Yesterday I pronounced on the reasons why the Conservative Party would want an early election. Three of them, said I: the Liberals are stalled on the Green Shift; a possible budget deficit; inflationary pressure causing possible interest rate increases.

Today the National Post ran an article in which James Cowan reiterates two of my three points:

The federal budget is back in the black, but who knows how long it will stay in the black, they [The Conservatives] may decide they want to pull the plug before interest rates rise.

Strangely it’ a story about Dion getting an Obama bounce. How Cowan got that from what I wrote I’ll never know, but I’ve rarely heard such preposterous ideas.

How any sane person thinks Canadians will look at Barack Obama and imagine Stéphane Dion I will never know. Obama is a handsome, well spoken, populist politician. Dion is a nerdy stumble-bum who’s one policy is a major new tax. Obama is the first African American Presidential candidate, Dion yet another in a too long line of Quebecer’s vying for the job of Prime Minister.

Of course when you use a source like Stephen Clarkson, former husband of Liberal appointed Governor General Adrienne Clarkson and author of The Big Red Machine: How the Liberal Party Dominates Canadian Politics, it is possible you will get a Liberal-tilt in your story.

I don’t buy any of it. Canadians elect based on Canadian candidates, not based on who’s on the U.S. ballot. If this logic applied in the real world how did the Liberals win a majority in Nov. 2000, just two weeks after George Bush squeaked out an electoral college victory? (Albeit losing the popular vote). Four years later in the Spring of 2004, the Liberals were reduced to a minority losing 3.2% of the popular vote. Meanwhile, that fall George Bush increased his popular vote by 2.8%. Other examples include 1980, when Republican Ronald Regan and Liberal Pierre Trudeau both won (PC Brian Mulroney won in 1984 and 1988, both Republican victories in the U.S.) Liberal Trudeau won in 1972 and 1968 while Republican Richard Nixon was winning Stateside.

The thesis just doesn’t hold water, but of course it was never meant to: it was meant to put Stéphane Dion’s name in the same sentence as Barack Obama.

At least James Cowan, however, got those other two points right.

I've Seen Barack Obama and Stéphane Dion is no Barack Obama, Stephane Dion, The Media Following My Lead.

Now that the people in charge of “advertising in gas stations from oil companies” have rejected the Conservative’s Dion’s Tax On Everything ads, can we take it as read that the Liberal Party is “working hand and glove with the oil companies?”

Silly Liberals, Stephane Dion

Every once in a while someone pulls out a TV camera or a microphone, and he rails about about some indignity, large or small, perceived or real, ancient history or yesterdays news. Threats are made, breath is held, then he crawls into some cave and hides.

Silly Liberals, Stephane Dion

While Joanne is wondering where Stephane Dion is:

What will Stephane Dion’s next move be?

First of all we need to find him.

The answer seems obvious to me: he’s mourning for his dog. Poor Kyoto.

One question though. Will there be any smarmy remarks from David McGuinty?

Kyoto, Stephane Dion

Stephane Dion’s nightmare scenario became a reality in three byelections Monday night…

For only the second time since 1935, the Liberals lost the multiethnic riding of Outremont – and it wasn’t even close. They were beaten by 20 percentage points…

With the party hemorrhaging seats in the province…

The party’s fall from grace has been staggering in the province…

But despite Dion’s optimism, he should expect to face tough questions from his own troops. One Liberal MP went out of his way to point out that the Liberals’ current seat-count in Quebec – 12 – is the lowest since Confederation…

Another Liberal MP agreed that it’s time for a few changes. (emphasis mine)

OK, those are the highlights, but if Dion is going to get press like that, Stephen Harper need not worry about the backlash from the press gallery.

Gerry Nicholls predicts Dion is toast. He may be right, Liberals don’t tolerate losers, and right now that’s what Dion is.

Silly Liberals, Stephane Dion, whack-a-mole politics