Whether one likes Dion or not (and I have respect for him), he has got to go. Like yesterday, literally.
The voters, rightly or wrongly, never warmed to the man. For that reason alone, Dion has to go and as quickly as possible. May is too late.
Dion is not a good communicator and doesn't do media events well - at all. Yesterday's well-crafted speech came across poorly due to its presentation, which is a darn shame. In terms of substance, it was vastly superior to Harper's. Granted, not all of the poor presentation was due to Dion; the video quality also was poor.
People talk about the Conservative Party really being all about Harper. His leadership. Well, when voters talk about the Liberal Party, in the end - after discussion of Martinites vs. Chretianites, sponsorship, party disorganization, lack of grassroots - it always comes down to Dion. And his leadership.
The LPC needs, crucially, someone who can recapture the imaginations of the Canadian public, someone who can solidly portray competence. Dion can't do that. Nor, do I think, can Iggy (who gives most lefties the creeps) or Rae or LeBlanc.
There must be a LPC emergency measure which could i) have the duration of the leadership race shortened, ii) allow all LPC members to vote for the leader (one member, one vote), rather than insisting on running a costly convention at which only people backed by money can attend and vote, iii) or find some other way to put a new leader in place quickly.
It would be ideal if a new leader could be in place by January 26th, when Parliament resumes.
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