Sleepless Nights
From today's Post:
Remind me again why a candidate with a decade of political experience needs time to "grow into the role" of party leader and one with a year of political experience is our best bet to beat Harper right now?
UPDATE: MP Susan Kadis has withdrawn her support for Iggy over these comments.
"I was a professor of human rights, and I am also a professor of the laws of war, and what happened in Qana was a war crime, and I should have said that. That's clear."
Leslie Church, director of communications for the Ignatieff campaign, said that even though he prefaced his comment by referring to his expertise in the law of war, he did not intend to apportion legal responsibility.
"This isn't a deliberation that Michael would make on his feet. There is no way that he would make a pronouncement on international law in this format, and that's not what he's driving at here," Ms. Church said.
"He meant that this was a tragedy of war, that this was a deplorable act in war, that this was a terrible consequence of war."
Remind me again why a candidate with a decade of political experience needs time to "grow into the role" of party leader and one with a year of political experience is our best bet to beat Harper right now?
UPDATE: MP Susan Kadis has withdrawn her support for Iggy over these comments.
posted by calgarygrit at
3:55 p.m.
31 Comments:
Well, as I've said a couple of times today, I think the apology part is commendable, and the war crimes part is obvious. I suppose though that the response of his PR guy looks bad, and the fact that he said this in Quebec makes Iggy look opportunistic.
I guess a shit storm is coming.
By
bigcitylib, at 4:11 p.m.
Not a shitstorm.
Just the traditional Iggystorm of statements, re-statements, qualifications, and excuses.
Man oh man, must have been tough to have him as a professor.
By
Anonymous, at 4:21 p.m.
But which Iggy is the real Iggy, the right wing Iggy, the left wing Iggy, or the man-for-all-reasons Iggy.
By
Anonymous, at 4:30 p.m.
What did the Tories say about Iggy again? Puts his foot in his mouth too often?
Hmm...
By
Eric, at 4:42 p.m.
Oh, Jill, do you have a link about Susan Kadis withdrawing her support? I'd like to see it.
By
Eric, at 4:48 p.m.
I'm sorry I ever wasted breath on Ignatieff. Each month he just gets worse and worse.
By
Jacques Beau Vert, at 5:10 p.m.
I just don't understand.
By
Dan McKenzie, at 5:24 p.m.
Check out Cherniak's blog for Kadis' resignation details.
jasoncherniak.com
By
Dan McKenzie, at 5:31 p.m.
You had me up until the Check out Cherniak's blog part.
By
Jacques Beau Vert, at 5:43 p.m.
How many times has this happened now?
Remember Stockwell Day?
And some people think Michael Ignatieff is the best candidate to lead the liberals in a federal election against Stephen Harper
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
By
Down & Out in L A, at 6:06 p.m.
He is not ready.
By
mezba, at 6:11 p.m.
Not "ready"? He's been a journalist and a human rights scholar his whole life - that's prep enough.
He will never, EVER be "ready". This is as good as he gets. Cabinet, hell yes - lucky to have him, no doubt whatsoever. But he'll never be ready for the PMO.
(Like *I* ever will, pft)
By
Jacques Beau Vert, at 6:21 p.m.
i agree with jason bo. he is not ready, and will not be ready in a few years. his opportunistic comments are appalling, and yet again, his PR try to spin him out of it by denying it. didnt work for the dead guy he signed up or the 11 in brampton living in a restaurant and wont work here.
By
kenlister1, at 7:09 p.m.
I think Iggy just doesn't understand the game. In school, he'd be able to have his own opinions and express them. As leader of a fractured party and trying to get votes in Quebec, he discovers he has to pander and placate to different groups. This is where he slips up.
By
Forward Looking Canadian, at 7:51 p.m.
No, he doesn't belong in cabinet.
He belongs in academia, or other environments suitable to one-man-bands who don't have to work as a team.
Could you imagine having him in your cabinet if you were PM - assuming you were the normal kind who allows ministers to speak.
By
Reality Bites, at 8:21 p.m.
Reality Bites, I demand you start up your blog. You've got the best title going.
By
Jacques Beau Vert, at 8:37 p.m.
Remind me again why someone with no federal or international experience is an appropriate leader of the federal Liberal Party?
By
S.K., at 9:48 p.m.
As for Iggy, I would seriously question even cabinet. He wasn't put in MArtin's cabinet. He is a political imbecile that would just get us into trouble domesticly and internationally. He should be kept on the back benches and away from all microphones.
By
S.K., at 9:52 p.m.
S.B.
Martin didn't put Iggy is his cabinet because Iggy wasn't an MP until this January. If you'll recall, that is when Martin lost his gov't.
By
Forward Looking Canadian, at 9:54 p.m.
"He is a political imbecile"
and winning the race so far! lol!
By
Tarkwell Robotico, at 10:47 p.m.
I wasn't supporting Iggy, but then I decided to... just so I could withdraw my support over these comments.
By
Havril, at 11:26 p.m.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
By
fresh, at 1:40 a.m.
seems to me maybe this is why every liberal leader since alexander mackenzie has held a cabinet post… before winning a liberal leadership and becoming prime minister.
By
fresh, at 6:20 a.m.
Equally interesting is his completed changed story on Iraq. If you listen to (or read - I've transcribed it on my blog) Ignatieff's remarks from 2003 on Iraq that Le Vert unearthed on his blog you'll see that his support had nothing to do with the abuses of the Kurds, it was all about the Israel/Palestine question.
How many times does he think he can change his views 180 degrees on substantive foreign policy questions before he loses all credibility?
By
nbpolitico, at 10:40 a.m.
So let's recap where the Lib's are in their leadership search:
Iggy - A foot-in-mouth ex-patriate Canadian who would lead us to believe that he truly was able to keep his pulse on things while he spent 30 years in academia.
Rae - A born again Liberal who in a previous life devestated Ontario. He has a great track record to run on, uh huh.
Kennedy - A left of center whose claim to fame is a food bank in Edmonton and a short stint as an Ontario cabinet minister. Not ready for prime time.
Dion - Oh yeah... another PM from Quebec. Yup, that'll sell in the rest of Canada. Oh, and when Rona Ambrose screwed up on the quote on emission credit purchases by the former Liberal government in committee, Dion sat there, listened, and did not bring up the reality. People, it was his former department! You would think he would have some idea on a major point like that what happened!!?? It took an NGO to point out the oops. Man, is that man on the ball!
The rest don't stand a chance, so why get into them.
The Conservatives are going to have some slip ups (eg Ambrose and emission credits), but unless there is something major on the horizon, I don't see anyone of these four capturing the Canadian imagination and saying, "Uh huh, that person is going to be the one I want to see leading my government".
Thankfully, as a conservative supporter, I suspect "four more years" will be more likely then not. I have stated previously, it will take at least one more election before the Liberals get a leader who will be competitive, and they are doomed to the political wilderness the same as the Tories were (and well deserved too).
The Conservatives finally smartened up, and in time, maybe the Liberals will too. I just hope it takes a long, long time.
By
Andy, at 12:27 p.m.
Dream on, Andy. The Liberal Party will form the next government come the next election. Not all the muzzles in Harper's kitchen cupboards will be enough to stop his "true" supporters slipping up and actually saying what they believe. Not all the Orwellian tricks of falsely labelled Acts (Clean Air Act my foot! Accountability Act my foot!) will disguise the true nature of the steps taken and planned by the neocon "new" Tories.
And Bob Rae will make Harper sound like a wooden scarecrow during the debates. He will skewer his evasions, run rings around his distortions, excise his true rightwing core beliefs, and show the difference between mean-spirited Toryism and the liberal values underlying the Liberal Party.
So, dream on, Andy.
By
CuriosityCat, at 2:07 p.m.
Paul Wells . . . . .
By
Down & Out in L A, at 9:37 p.m.
Looks like Mrs. Cotler has withdrawn her support too - from the party.
By
Joanne (True Blue), at 1:11 p.m.
Susan Kadis withdraws support for what she deems necessary for her political furture. While disappoinging that she has left Ignatieff campaign, sometimes in politics you have to do what you have to do. But on the other hand, leaving when the going gets tough is not something I would condone. Like some other candidates, rae to name one, she is putting her future ahead of the party's.
By
Just another Liberal, at 2:40 p.m.
Yup.
Coming out of a recession, the Ontario voters threw out Rae's NDP government.
And got Harris.
A bit like voters throwing out the Liberals in 2006.
And getting Harper.
Reactive voting - while emotionally satisfying at the time - ain't always that smart.
That's why we hold elections every few years or so. To correct mistakes.
Like Harper. When Bob Rae gets done with him on the hustings.
By
CuriosityCat, at 2:57 p.m.
Apparently Susan Kadis' riding in North Toronto is home to 10,000 Jewish voters.
She may have felt that she had to leave Iggy, under those circumstances.
By
Down & Out in L A, at 3:21 p.m.
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