hydragoat said:
Like it or not. Stéphane Dion's win of the liberal party leadership has given Steven Harper an overwhelming edge.
Dion is hopelessly disliked in Québec.
Any semblance of a liberal party rebirth has evaporated.
Bob Rae was the best choice. (I know his brother in with Chrétien)
It is as if the liberal party has again stuck a finger in its eye. Further proof that medicrity gravitates to what the mediocre thinks is the best chance of getting their ass elected.
Whoever won yesterday, the Liberals will still lose the next election. The problem is that none of the candidates were exceptional.
While I like Dion and think that he has integrity, regardless of the spin that people put on it, he is disliked in Quebec and not really known outside of Ontario/Quebec.
Bob Rae was premier of the NDP and people in Ontario blame him for the economic crisis and financial mismanagement that happened while he was premier of Ontario. He also switched parties so people don't know whether he is a liberal or an NDP. Harper would have used this against Rae. You can't win a majority government without Ontario and I don't believe that Ontarians have forgotten Rae's mismanagement as premier of their province.
Michael Ignatieff was out of Canada for a large number of years and wants to be PM? He also has a habit of speaking before he thinks of the consequences (like his war crimes comment regarding what is happening in the Middle East and starting the Quebec Nation debate at this time).
The only liberal leader that might have won for the liberals would have been one of the big names that didn't enter the federal liberal leadership compaign. Names such as Frank McKenna, John Manley, etc.
Harper will win the next federal election unless he commits a major gaffe. There is no question in my mind regarding this and regardless of which of the top 3 contenders won yesterday (Ignatieff, Rae, Dion), Harper will still win against them.
I'm interested in seeing what Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae does now that they lost the leadership. My guess is that Rae will not seek a seat in the House of Commons (he doesn't have a seat and "became" a Liberal leadership candidate) and Ignatieff seems to just have come back to Canada to be Liberal leader. Now that Michael Ignatieff didn't win, I'm not sure how long he will stay in Canada and how long he will keep his seat (I believe that he won a seat for the sole purpose of the leadership race).