So, the Liberal leadership race is well underway and looks like it’ll be a clash of the titans. Michael Ignatieff vs. Bob Rae—and the wild card being that young fellow Dominic Leblanc.
Now, this is a leaner, meaner race than in 2006, and both front-runners are in a far better position than they were then. In 2006, the Tories ran a vicious stealth campaign against Bob Rae, accusing him of being in power during a recession. Well, the Tories now have their own recession and their own deficits to deal with.
Back then, they accused Ignatieff of being an outsider. This time around, the man has a Canadian driver’s licence. And he knows the difference between the Calgary Stampede and Blue Rodeo. That’s gotta help.
But the big news for the cash-strapped Liberal Party is that this time around, both Bob Rae and Michael Ignatieff are in their sixties. Which means if they campaign by train, they’re now eligible for the VIA Rail seniors’ discount. Dominic Leblanc won’t be able to do that for another twenty years. Which reminds me: who the hell is Dominic Leblanc, anyway? All I really know about the guy is that he’s got more experience in the House of Commons than Bob Rae and Michael Ignatieff combined, and the Tories want him to win because he has a French last name and a horrible secret.
The secret? He studied law at Harvard—which, according to the Conservatives, is a huge character flaw. Yes, apparently we’re now a nation that lies awake at night, terrified that our children might want to go to a really good university.
Oh—and the other thing about Dominic Leblanc is that, like Bob Rae and Michael Ignatieff, he’s a very good speaker in not one, but two official languages. So no matter who wins, the Tories are in for a few sleepless nights as well.