Now that he is no longer under Paul Martin's thumb, Liberal leadership heavyweight Michael Ignatieff is letting it fly. And frankly, I like what I'm seeing:
Over cold nachos, the world-renowned academic offered a sharp critique of his party and its recent tactics. "We've got to stop this trite and shallow anti-Americanism" and avoid negative campaigning, he said.
"Our campaign ads were a disgrace, an insult to the intelligence of the Canadian voter. We went negative and we had no business doing that. We can't do that again.
"We should appeal to the best in Canadians and not the worst."
He's only been an MP for a couple of weeks and he already understands the need to play the "hope" card. He's a big threat ...
Whatever you think of his views (I admired his stance on Iraq) I think Ignatieff is going to make a valuable contribution to Canadian public life. I look forward to his candidacy if this is the kind of refreshing frankness he is going to bring to the table. It is something the Liberal Party -- actually, the country -- badly needs.
