Mr. Rae and the Grits deserve each other

What Ed thinks about Bob. I think I'm less conflicted now:

Bob Rae began his apologia for the Liberal Party by quoting Sir Wilfrid Laurier. Given his subsequent argument, William Lyon Mackenzie King would have been a much better choice. After all, while he pursued power, Laurier also had deep convictions -- King merely wanted the power. Carefully tailoring his policies to shifts in public opinion, King held power for many years, all the time noting the fact that, whether on his left or right, other politicians were guided by principles. Mr. Rae offers us much the same. His variant on an old theme is found in his recent discovery that politics is 'about people,' not 'ideology,' as if these were mutually exclusive categories. Like many Liberals, Bob Rae creates the undefined straw man, labelled 'ideology,' to attack. In part this seems intended to deflect our attention away from his own unexceptional ideology, i.e. mainstream liberal democracy. Consider a short list of the things he tells us he is for: a united federal country; economic growth and environmental sustainability; the rule of law; investing in education; free, fair and open trade; and, markets that are neither despised nor worshipped. No Canadian politician would oppose any of these. Only someone capable of describing himself as being part of the 'progressive centre,' could imply that these are uniquely Liberal ideas. Here in Ottawa, I can hear Stephen Harper laughing half way across town. Pierre Trudeau would have scorned such banalities.