Stephane Dion

Stephane Dion has resigned as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. I like Mr. Dion and I'm sorry that he had to resign but he did have to resign. He didn't have the support of the Liberal caucus and despite what a good many bloggers might believe, I don't think that he had the support of the majority of the membership of the Party.

What does Mr. Dion's failure have to say about the state of politics and the state of Canada? I believe that Mr. Dion has the intelligence and honesty to be a great leader of Canada. I also believe that an anti-french sentiment in English Canada is partially to blame for his failure on election day. Another source of his failure is that the Conservative Party was very successful in portraying a negative image of Stephane Dion this also fed into the anti-french attitude of many people. The media was also seduced by the negative image of Mr. Dion. My experience as I have written before is that the media is very lazy unwilling to do any work to get to the truth so if you provide them a story that is easy to report they will run with it. We live in a very instant society so rather than going past the 10 second clip on TV, the headline in the newspaper or online most people will accept what they are bombarded with and won't take the time to explore the issues.

The Liberals failed to counter the negative advertising until too late and Stephane Dion was doomed. I want to make it clear that I don't think that the Conservative Party did anything wrong, it is the CPC's job to win and it did its best to do just that. It is the voters of Canada who have to demand better from their political parties, go past the negative advertising, read the party platforms, listen to the politicians, read the entire article and not just the headline, read an opposing viewpoint and most importantly of all get out and vote.

Outremont

Many Quebecers have told me that they don't like Stephane Dion because he lectures to them like a father lectures to a badly behaved child. I think that a by-election provides an electorate the opportunity to rebel without the severe consequences of a general election loss. Meaning that you can elect an NDPer without worrying that somehow you are electing a government. The voters can say to the LPC and Stephane Dion we don't like the way you have been treating us so we are going to elect someone other than a Liberal. When it comes to a general election I believe that the voters of Outremont will behave differently.

That being said the LPC had better examine the campaign they ran. A poor choice in candidate for the riding, poor organization and party infighting are not going to win a campaign. I can't understand why Dion would appoint a candidate who isn't liked by the Jewish community. Even if the perception of the candidate as being anti-Israel is wrong, it is a huge obstacle to overcome in politics perception is everything. Reading the post of Justin Tetrault it is clear that this wasn't a well run campaign. The party infighting is also documented in that post.

As for the Conservative gains, it is Brian Mulroney all over again bribe the separatist voters with federal money and powers and reap the dividend for your party. To hell with the country all Harper cares about is staying in power.

Summer Is Here!

It will be very interesting to see how the summer goes for the Liberals and Conservatives.
The Liberals have to get Stephane Dion's profile increased. Here is a man that everyone that I have talked to that has met him or has taken the time to take an unbiased view of his career and his vision for Canada comes away impressed. Yet the polls show that he hasn't connected with Canadians. Get him out on the hustings and get him on television, let Canada see what he has to offer.

Stephen Harper has to repair his image with the average Canadian. He still has his core support but I think that the average person sees him as a Bush wannabe and a bully. Maybe I'm wrong but this is what I'm hearing.

Stephane Dion

I like Stephane Dion. I've met him a couple of times and he is a genuine person so I am confused when people perceive him as arrogant. I suspect that Dion's confidence in his own intellect may be perceived as arrogance.

There is a good article in the Ottawa Citizen about Stephane Dion. The Citizen is no friend of the Liberal Party of Canada so I was surprised that the article was so positive. I think in time the majority of Canadians will see that Stephane Dion is the best leader for the country.