Monday, April 14, 2008

From the way-back machine

Just for fun, here's Chantal Hebert writing about Stephane Dion back in January, 2006, just after the last election talking about the soon to begin Liberal leadership race:

"If the Liberals are to move them past those episodes, they may have to look beyond Cauchon, perhaps to the brainy Stéphane Dion, to help them get there. If this is to be a Liberal year when talking heads matter more than political animals, a rare time when participating in the race could be as important as winning it, Dion would be a good fit for this campaign."

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6 comments:

Steve V said...

Oh, back in the day, when all the media LOVED Dion, to the point of gushing in the summer of 06. I actually remember writing a post that one of Dion's biggest asset's moving forward could be his positive relationship with the media, a conduit for his message. LOL.

Dr. Tux said...

Actually,

What I remember most during the leadership race is how often the media tried to paint it as a two horse race.

There was a consistent frame which excluded Dion as a serious contender.

Now the media thinks that it was an "any body but..." race. They still fail to see that there was a split in old power support and that it was mostly youth and women who pushed Dion up the middle.

I have never had my faith in media brought to such lows as over the past two years.

Steve V said...

dr tux

I suggest you go back to the summer of 2006 and read some of the editorials, Dion was the DARLING. In fact, I would argue that the friendly coverage helped make Dion look a serious alternative, it gave him exposure.

Forward Looking Canadian said...

I agree with Chantal. Back when it looked like the Liberals needed to rebrand and re-organize, I too believed Stephane Dion was the man for the job. I supported him right up to the leadership election.

Like Paul martin, Dion held the promise of smart change, re-invigoration, a new way of doing things. However, just like paul martin, he has fallen flat on his face.

I think the message we have gotten through this is we need to elect a natural leader, not a policy wonk. Paul Martin and Dion are both policy wonks, very smart, very keen, just not good at managing.

burlivespipe said...

That must have been Jacques Hebert substituting for Chantal...
Well, even Jack Layton had a bit of a woody for Dion in the 'ol days'.
And what about Dave Nonis, BCTO?
Personally, the guy had one move and choked the rest of the way. The Luongo deal, great, but where's the scoring? He complained at the last deadline that there were no trades to be made (other than the Cooke-Pettinger swap). But what does McPhee do, but find a number-one goalie, a veteran leader and a grit forward for the price of a second rounder, a college prospect and a third-liner?
My guess is Aquaman will hire Bob Nicholson...

Mike514 said...

The way-back machine is fun.

If you search through Cherniak's archives, you'll find at one point he proposed Dion as Quebec Lieutenant for the Liberal party. So if Dion gets replaced as leader, would Jason still suggest Dion as Qc Lieutenant for the Libs?