What time can do to you:
First Picture: When the Queen actually looked like a Queen.
Second Picture: She looks like any old lady with a funny hat.
Third Picture: Trudeau always had fun with Queen Liz. Remember a little dance he did behind her. I thought that was very funny.
I will begin with Pierre Trudeau. In my opinion he was the best Liberal leader of the twentieth century. He gave international visibility to Canada and his reforms on immigration, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and human rights is an extraordinary legacy which will be cherished for decades to come.
Then there was John Turner. The hopes were high for him, he had an image and reputation as Minister of Finance. However, as leader he was lacklustre and he paid a heavy price at the polls.
After that was Jean Chrétien. He was a relatively underestimated leader, but he showed extraordinary political skills and instinct. He pretty well demolished the Progressive Conservatives in 1993. I had the opportunity to listen to Chrétien at a small forum. I found him to be very bright, humorous, and down to earth. He connected well with the needs of ordinary Canadians and overall was an extraordinary Prime Minister. Also, it is important to remember that before his time as Prime Minister, during his tenure as a Cabinet Minister in the Trudeau government, Chrétien played a key role in the negotiations that led to the Charter of Rights.
After Chrétien came Paul Martin. Again, there were high expectation - Martin did exceptionally well as Finance Minister. His intentions were good but as leader he faltered and caused serious divisions in the party. This was especially the case as he tried to get even with the Chrétien Liberals. This was a major force which, in the end, brought him down.
Then there was Stéphane Dion who unexpectedly won the 2006 Liberal leadership race. Dion's heart was in the right place, he is sincere, principled, and very intelligent. Unfortunately though, he was not a great communicator, especially with regards to the English language. As well, he did not have full support of his caucus and knives were constantly out for him.
Now comes Michael Ignatieff. Initially, I thought he had potential and that he would do well as leader given his background and international experience. But he turned out to be more an American conservative than a Canadian Liberal. Ignatieff's hawkish positions on Afghanistan and Iraq are distressing. When he was first running for the leadership, he did take the position that Israel's bombing of Lebanon was excessive. However, the pro-Israel lobby prevailed on him and since then his positions have been very distressful.
Despite Israel's murder and mayhem in Gaza from December 2008 to January 2009, Ignatieff gave even stronger support to them than did Harper and Bush. Ignatieff sounds like someone who wants to be Prime Minister at any cost. Also, he does not quite understand the grassroots in Canada.
One more thing, not entirely related, that I would like to add. I am not sure why the blogger Anxious Liberal was dropped from Liberals Online. I read his post on Ignatieff. It is a strong opinion, but primarily he calls the actions in question "unethical" and not "illegal." For this reason, I do not see it to be libellous. Unfortunately, this word libellous has been used too casually I find.
It would be greatly appreciated if James Curran will give some explanation because this particular aggregate is about tolerance of diverse opinions as long as they are not libellous. After all, tolerance of diversity was the primary reason for the foundation of this aggregate in the first place.
Pierre Trudeau, in my opinion, was one of Canada's greatest Prime Ministers. He fought seperatist forces and stood up for Canadian unity, defeating Rene Levesque in the 1980 Quebec referendum. Trudeau also asserted a strong and independent foreign policy for Canada, one that was based on diplomacy, peace, and human rights. His name is well-known throughout the World, something that is not common for a Canadian Prime Minister.
With the Americans, Trudeau maintained a productive and healthy friendship, but at the same time he did not let Canada's interests get subsumed by the United States. As well, he strove to limit the growth of American corporate dominance in the Canadian economy.
That was the Liberal Party then, but now...
Poster by Simon Pole
My apologies to my Liberal friends, but some of the current trends in the Liberal Party are very disconcerting to me, especially under the leadership of Michael Ignatieff. The Party seems to have departed from many of its past traditions. Also, between Harper's calling Canada a "second-tier socialist country" and Iggy's statements above, it is disturbing that the leaders of our two major political parties have so little pride in this country.
P.S. If you want to see all the posters, you can click here. The artist encourages others to use his posters on their blogs and websites.
CNN aired specials called "Barack Obama Revealed" and "John McCain Revealed". More recently, Joe Biden and Sarah Palin were "Revealed." I thought I will try a Canadian version but in a much simpler way for my readers. I will "Reveal" the answer to, who do they aspire to be?
Stephen Harper: Of course his master George W. Bush. If given the chance, he would change the nomenclature from Prime Minister to President and build himself a Whitehouse.
Elizabeth May: She would like to be her role model David Suzuki. Environmentalist and all green.
Gilles Duceppe: But of course René Lévesque, his role model. A separate nation and he is its Prime Minister or President, whatever the case may be. I wonder if Duceppe will take up smoking too ;)
Jack Layton: Barack Obama of course. He mimics Obama in his speeches and wants to be the leader of change. At times he sounds exactly like Barack Obama and even copies his gestures and mannerisms.
Stéphane Dion: If nothing else he will like to be Prime Minister for 10 years plus like Pierre Elliott Trudeau. He would also like to be like David Suzuki, but then it would complicate the picture a bit.
Good luck to them all.
