This exchange took place between Rad-Can’s Christiane Charette on Friday, April 17, as Ignatieff continues on his book promotion tour. A little vignette for your enjoyment.

Ignatieff: “But I insist it’s a book … it’s not an electoral platform, it’s not an apologia pro sua vita, it’s not a Liberal document, it’s a personal book reflecting on my roots … I assure you, I wrote it like that because I wanted to …”
Ms. Charette: “But you must have shown it first to your political party, given the context, no?”
Ignatieff: “No, not at all, not at all.”
Ms. Charette: “You’re free?”
Ignatieff: (in a deeper voice) “I am free, and I am also the leader!”
A good laugh ensued.

And if you want more chuckles …
http://fakestephenharper.blogspot.com/

You might be right. The Grants were a rich family and this afforded a young Ignatieff to pursue his Russian roots with a financial (and cultural) footing.

You might be right. The Grants were a rich family and this afforded a young Ignatieff to pursue his Russian roots with a financial (and cultural) footing.

Timing is suspect to say it's not a prelude to a Liberal campaign.

It's suspiciously like a frantic cobble up of a get to know me, an objective account about me by me and my true patriot love of a country I only returned to for opportunity. Forgive me for my cynicism.

Seriously, Stephen, you need to put up a dweeb alert before subjecting us to drivel like that!!

“He has tried many things in many places …”

Sort of a jack of all trades … but master of none? Is that what you're saying?

In a nutshell – Zero!

In a nutshell – Zero!

I assume he means cultural inheritance from is mother, not merely financial. That is the heritage which he presumably articulates in his new book, ‘always being there’ in the fact of Canada. I could understand his being drawn to the vanished Russian part of his provenance more than to the extant Canadian side. In my own parental antecedents there is one side that is relatively well-known, the other which is a mystery of British or European roots – and it is the mysterious side that intrigues me the more to investigate. I don’t see an issue of divided loyalties or hypocrisy here, in spite of his long foreign tenures, just an expression of the sort of mixed heritage many, if not most Canadians have, as well as a manifestation of the cosmopolitanism many, perhaps far too many, Canadians aspire to.

I assume he means cultural inheritance from is mother, not merely financial. That is the heritage which he presumably articulates in his new book, ‘always being there’ in the fact of Canada. I could understand his being drawn to the vanished Russian part of his provenance more than to the extant Canadian side. In my own parental antecedents there is one side that is relatively well-known, the other which is a mystery of British or European roots – and it is the mysterious side that intrigues me the more to investigate. I don’t see an issue of divided loyalties or hypocrisy here, in spite of his long foreign tenures, just an expression of the sort of mixed heritage many, if not most Canadians have, as well as a manifestation of the cosmopolitanism many, perhaps far too many, Canadians aspire to.

Didn't Harper's new buddy Obama launch last year just before prime election campaign time?

Your anti Liberal bias comes through very nicely. It bothers you there is someone out there smarter and more popular than your boy who is sinking like a rat on a ship.

drivel it is…the Tories are getting desperate. Watch question period this week and see all the Tory children at play.

“Harper's new buddy Obama”, give us a break! Our PM is doing what any leader would do with half a brain, having dialogue and showing respect for the Leader of our neighbour and largest trading partner.It's a mutual respect, that's quite obvious.

Liberals and NDP were falling all over themselves, worshiping Obama before he became the President, what's changed? Could it be the Green eyed monster rearing it's ugly head? Is it biting your butt to see a Democratic POTUS getting along and respecting a Conservative PM of Canada?

Your last paragraph says a lot more about you than you realize. You really are a blind as a bat apologist.

I watched QP today, the playground was the same as usual, on the Opposition benches.

Wonder if you could tell us if Liberal Finance critic, one John McCallum, has been put on probation by Professor Ignatieff?

Stephen and all – there's a hilarious cartoon in the London Free Press today dealing appropriately with exactly this topic. In an nutshell, Iggy's got his pants around his ankles, his book in one hand and his other hand is pointing to his butt and asking the confused lady and her kid if they'd care to see his patriotic tatoo. Very funny.

What a pretenscious a$$!!! His manerisms drive me up the wall. A “job” at the BBC eh???

What a pretenscious a$$!!! His manerisms drive me up the wall. A “job” at the BBC eh???

He is right. As Ignatieff points out at the beginning of the clip, he is self-made. He has tried many things in many places and succeeded on his own.

He is right. As Ignatieff points out at the beginning of the clip, he is self-made. He has tried many things in many places and succeeded on his own.

Actually, if you read it, there is no way it was “cobbled together”.

Most of it, as most of the reviewers note, has nothing to do directly with him but is a history of 3 generations of a family that made very real, very tangible contributions to Canada. It is not an academic book, but it is not thin on the research here. And there is a clear sense of service and duty to Canada that runs in the Grant family.

The last chapter you could argue is more political since it lays out how he views some of the same issues that his family has grappled with over the last century plus.

But that would be a puzzling critique. I thought the talking point was that Iggy wasn’t saying anything about what his plans and visions were. Well, here’s a start.

Actually, if you read it, there is no way it was “cobbled together”.

Most of it, as most of the reviewers note, has nothing to do directly with him but is a history of 3 generations of a family that made very real, very tangible contributions to Canada. It is not an academic book, but it is not thin on the research here. And there is a clear sense of service and duty to Canada that runs in the Grant family.

The last chapter you could argue is more political since it lays out how he views some of the same issues that his family has grappled with over the last century plus.

But that would be a puzzling critique. I thought the talking point was that Iggy wasn’t saying anything about what his plans and visions were. Well, here’s a start.

sure ted he’s tried just about everything, and now he’s “trying” politics, and we can be sure he’s got the next thing he’s going to test drive ready when his bid for PM fails too……a definite pattern of inconsistency by Iggo Waffle.

sure ted he’s tried just about everything, and now he’s “trying” politics, and we can be sure he’s got the next thing he’s going to test drive ready when his bid for PM fails too……a definite pattern of inconsistency by Iggo Waffle.

This guy looks and sounds like this is all a bore to him.

Would he choose Harvard regatta's over Canada / Russia hockey games. Come to think of it – who would he be cheering for?

Ignatieff may sell in downtown Toronto, but he's not a leader who is going to gain this troubled party any seate outside of the 416..

Michael Ignatieff is a horse's a$$. He's earned his living since he was 18 years old????

Does that mean he'd graduated from Trinity College, U. of T. by the time he was 18? What does he mean?

He may not have “vast private means” to dip into, but he sure had at least modest means — or vaster than most — to dip into, which is why he was able to do a little writing here, a little broadcasting there, a little teaching here and there, in the U.S. and England, while avoiding Canada like the plague for 30 years.

He can pretend to be “a man of the people,” a “working man,” someone who's “earned his living since he was 18″ but, sorry, THAT'S not going to fly. It's not a crime to have gone to Upper Canada College, Trinity College, and Oxford University or to have had a father who was a diplomat or, on his mother’s side, a Grant lineage in the upper echelons of Canadian society, but it is disingenuous of him to feign a worker's “pedigree” since the age of 18.

I don't imagine, nudge, nudge, wink, wink, that his parents' contacts or financial means had ANYTHING to do with the doors that opened to him in education or journalism. For Ignatieff to play at being just a regular guy who's got by on his own steam rather than to admit to the silver spoon in his mouth that helped someone totally unknown as a politician to become the acclaimed “leader” of one of Canada's main political parties is akin to not acknowledging the proverbial and invisible elephant that’s in the room.

Ignatieff's aw-shucks act isn't convincing and every time I encounter his twitchy eyebrows, darting eyes, and languid arrogance I want to yell at him, “YOU PHONY! GET OUTTA TOWN! GO BACK TO ACADEMIA! LEAVE US ALONE!”

If this is all you guys have got, if this is the only stuff you can conjure up to discredit Iggy, then we Liberals will have a majority government within the year. Mulroney-Schreiber scandal vs. Iggy’s bothersome “mannerisms.”

We win.

If this is all you guys have got, if this is the only stuff you can conjure up to discredit Iggy, then we Liberals will have a majority government within the year. Mulroney-Schreiber scandal vs. Iggy’s bothersome “mannerisms.”

We win.

The body language, gets me every time.
I have every intention of listening with a fair and open mind and then wham, slap, thump, he sends me that obnoxious vibe called, snobbery.
This is a characteristic and at 62 years old, unlikely to change or be modified by an image maker. It will be what takes him out.

BAT B:
“”YOU PHONY! GET OUTTA TOWN! GO BACK TO ALBERTA! LEAVE US ALONE!”

I DO WISH HARPER WOULD LISTEN AND GET LOST.

Wow Stephen, compared with Grit Girl, this is pretty weak.

Better luck next time.

Nothing is funnier than a cartoon being described…oh wait.

Yes, I watched it too. Ignatieff sucking and blowing at the same time: on the one hand blaming Harper for the deficit and on the other hand complaining about a dearth in funding. The guy is truly an economic wizard, isn’t he?

This is a dangerous game for the Conservatives to play. The majority of Canadians consider themselves a child of two worlds; Canada and another. In Canada you can be a Canadian but still take pride in your family heritage. Because Ignatieff belongs to Russian heritage (statically a small group in Canada) the Conservatives feel secure in attacking his attraction to his second world. If his heritage was say, Irish or Scottish the Conservatives wouldn’t dare attack his attraction.

There really is nothing special about this. Most adults would call it growing up.

It’s not a popularity contest, it’s about running a country. Personality cults are for the pathetically shallow and uncritical.

I think McCallum was out for a ride in his North American car, a Chevy, nope, wait, I must have misspoke..

Gabby, I presume that blog is your version of good journalism. I actually like the way thye spoof Iggy but wonder how thye will like it when the Harper spoofs start coming from kinsella's war room. He plays nasty with the best of them.

The focus on Iggy is going to further increase his popularity becasue the people doing that heavy lifting in the Tory caucus are becoming very unpopular. I love it when the governing party gets even more stupid and makes it even easier to get a majority.

I also note that Harper maybe cavortng with the Country's leading socialist again and possibly allowing his principles to be bribed once mre so he can stay in power a little longer. I hope he caves in and agrees to push proportional representation in return for support from the NDP. It makes my day.

Those of us who are Canadian do not have to try to figure out why. As a family historian myself, it never occurred to me to even think along those lines. My ancestral families knew exactly what they were doing circa 1820 – taking a risk and building a new future in Canada. Those farms are still there. Iggyplant is a name-dropper. A lot of his relatives and he were quite negative about Canada. I guess that is why he left – too bad he came back in this role. The book is probably a self-examination about why he came back. I wish I could say who cares? Unfortunately, we do have a lot of uninformed voters, so I have to care. The guy has some psychological issues with his personal identity too – - he has been writing tell-all books on his family for years! The family were all embarrassed. The silver spoons are tarnished. Most of the Grants thought Canada was broken. No, Michael, we do not want YOU to fix our unbroken country. Retire to NY/Florida with your Harvard pals.

Terry1, you do get tiresome.

Stephen Harper is NOT a phony. He has more than paid his dues in the political trenches and has definitely earned his spurs, totally unlike silver-spoon-in-mouth Count Iggula. Whatever you think of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's politics, it is disingenuous of you to apply the label “phony” to him.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has years of experience in governance, something that has alluded Iggy. He also has a very good track record, something the internationally prestigious Economist has pointed out. Of course our surrender-monkey, LPC cheerleader/PR engine MSM has declined to inform the Canadian public of his poltical savvy on the international scene. BTW, he's also politically savvy on the Canadian scene as well — but, who would know?

Take your anti-Harper diatribes somewhere else, Terry1. They're tired, disingenuous, tiresome, and not based in reality. I've really had enough of the sneering, jeering, and leering of LPC cheerleaders like you. You're living in some kind of time warp and seem to have taken a holiday from reality.

BTW, Terry, at least Alberta is a real place, unlike “Academia,” which is disengaged from the real world.

Another BTW: Why should PMSH go back to Alberta? He grew up in Toronto.

Iggy has bitten off more than he can chomp. From academia to the real world right into the political arena is phantom leaping. He's been handed the leadership without contest, the little people of the LPC couldn't be trusted.

Shudder to think how well he'd perform if he got the big job, he's having trouble adjusting to leading the rag tag LPC which is still divided.

Paul Martin, an EXPERIENCED politician, who got the job after dividing and alienating people in his party over more than a decade, then didn't know what to do with it. He was an abysmal failure, his desperation killed him. Can Iggy, with very little experience in politics, possibly know what to do with the job of PM? Who will actually be calling the shots?

One would think he'd have more pressing things to hone up on than writing a “Me” book about how much he loves Canada.

Yes, Terry1, you presume an awful lot.
I see humour is foreign to you, just like unvarnished facts.

Remember Chuckles the Clown's motto?
“A little song, a little dance,
a little seltzer down your pants.”

It helps with one's perspective.

He's not wanted in Toronto becuse he doesn't share the same values as the leftie leaning Queen City.

One would think you could have done some research on almost all major political leaders before writing such garbage. Every wannabe leader has written self image books on their way to the top job.

Go back and read some of your own rants then we'll discuss “nonsense”.

No doubt you've read Paul Martin's 'somebody done me wrong' book after he left the political stage.
Pretty much a waste of time to bother reading what someone writes about themselves. We need an objective account of someone we don't know who wants to become the leader of our country.

Paul Martin made his own trap, can't blame anyone or anything else, he simply didn't have it.
He called the Adscam inquiry because he had no choice, on that Chretien bested him. Chretien also fixed their financial wagon as well which led to their money woes. Old Chretch had danced out when the proverbial hit the fan and pleaded innocence, had no knowledge of the scandal that unfolded under his nose. Ditto Martin, his Finance Minister. The scapegoat, Gagliano, stood in the HOC and said he did what he was told when questioned about the matter. He was a good boy, got shuffled off to Denmark.

One thing Iggy's book will do is dispel the need for the MSM to ask him if he loves Canada, he's already pleaded his true patriot love and we just gotta believe it.

Anyway Terry, gotta say, I'm not angry, just having fun and singing my Newfie tunes, off key of course.

No, just saying he has not sat in his office as a political pundit writing speeches and newspaper columns for his career like our current Prime Minister.

Liz J, that “the playground” was the same as usual is right on.

The opposition crying “the government must do more! – more money! – more funding!” and then turning around and saying the Conservatives “squandered” the surplus.

There's another metaphor that comes to mind: the dance floor. The opposition is usually dancing around the real issues. They're fond of doing
• the stomp: jazz dance featuring heavy stamping of the feet
• the farruca: Spanish gypsy dance with sudden tempo and mood changes

And as last November – early December showed, the opposition also likes
• the cotillion: elaborate ballroom dance with frequent changes of partner

H/T http://phrontistery.info/dance.html

Sorry, so should he apologize for a successful career abroad? For having lineage both to a founding father of Canada and to an immigrant heritage?

That kind of silliness is what cheapens politics and turns people off of the whole process. He has nothing to apologize for. His service to the global promotion of human rights is to be commended and his intelligence and wisdom from living and working in different places makes him a better, not a worse candidate.

And as for those saying “go back to academia,” what utter nonsense you spew. Should he apologize for his education? And if so, will Harper for his master’s degree? Should all those with postgraduate education stand aside? What kind of country would you have if those with the most knowledge and the most experience and perspective were excluded?

You may disagree on policy, but what an absurd belittling of the minds and aspirations of Canadians this tirade is.

“Every wannabe leader has written self image books on their way to the top job.”
Terry1, can you provide a list for those of us who might have missed those best-sellers?

I wonder how many western voters will read his book. I know I will get Ezra's book but not his. And to all those who keep lying about iggy will get a majority. Where will he get at least 78 more seats, plus keep the ones he has. Libs have 7 of 91 seats in the west. and he will not get too many more. Does anyone really believe that Duceppe will not fight him all the way in Quebec. If Layton does not come out fighting you will know the coalition is still in the plans. But, should iggo not need them to form a govt he will throw them under the bus.
We have a very inexperienced POTUS, and we see the results. Do we really want a very inexperienced PM.
Two leaders who are just me, me and I will not bode well for the future.

Yeah, Gabby, I was searching for some of those “best-sellers” and have so far come up empty.

Terry will fill us in shortly.

“True Patriot Love” is a “we Americans” term moreso than Canadian because Canadians don't make much out of “patrtotism” in the face of Quebec “separatism” … regardless of our nominal national anthem.

O Canada! our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.

… does not appear in the French version, and replaced by:

Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!
Car ton bras sait porter l'épée,

… no mention of 'patriot sons' in French ..!!!

Just having a bit of fun at Iggy's expense. What's the matter with that? Is he too sensitive a soul?

Haven't you guys had loads to say about the PM's girth, his hair, his steely blue eyes, his shaking hands with his children, his sartorial choices, his choice of make-up or not, his purportedly wanting to take away women's choice, his supposedly being a control-freak, etc etc …

So, puncturing a MAJOR ego who puts on an act of being a self-effacing servant of the people … what's wrong with that?

As for the Mulroney-Schreiber affair, it's funny how “analysts” like Jim Travers and Daniel Lessard seem to have conveniently forgotten who was demanding an inquiry. Daniel Lessard in particular, on today's Politics, said Quebecers are saying the Conservatives should stop hounding Mr. Mulroney.
If the PM had not agreed to an inquiry, the same pundits would be saying the PM was trying to hide something.

ALLÔ ! M. Lessard ! Ce sont les Libéraux, et même M. Mulroney, qui ont exigé une enquête !

If the Liberals do get to form the next government, it will be because Canadians too, like Lessard, Travers and Newman, suffer from very selective memory.

I agree with you that Iggy's academic accomplishments and his intellectualism should not be the key focus of criticism levelled at him, but I hope you use the same yardstick for his opponents, in particular PM Harper.

Mr. Harper's master degree has also been the subject of derision, both by pundits and bloggers.

When he first became the PM, Mr. Harper was also derided for not having traveled widely. Now that he is travelling in his function as Canada's representative, he's either almost completely ignored by the MSM, or he's criticized for over-exposure in the foreign media.

So I hope your criticism is also levelled at your fellow travelers.

Terry1: Please give me the title of Stephen Harper's self image book that he wrote on his way to the top job. DO TELL, or retract your statement: “Every wannabe leader has written self image books on their way to the top job.” Certainly, Obama wrote not one but two and Iggy has written his one.

Geoffrey Jason Hall: “Sorry, so should he apologize for a successful career abroad? For having lineage both to a founding father of Canada and to an immigrant heritage?”

Not at all. It's simply that his successful career abroad was abroad, and yet he's angling to become Canada's Prime Minister. That's the problem. I'm delighted for Mr. Ignatieff that he had a successful journalistic and academic career — but both careers were in England and the United States.

He's been out of our country for 30 years, and even though he's obviously a bright man, he wasn't in touch with many of the unfolding issues in Canada during this time and because of this, he has missed nuances which are important. By his absence from our country, he hasn't exactly shown an interest in ordinary Canadians and our day-to-day struggles. He hasn't been a part of these struggles and because of his physical and emotional detachment, he hasn't EARNED a place as the leader of the LPC — and certainly not as the leader of Canada's Government. And, no, his “living and working in different places makes him a better, not a worse candidate.” If he'd been away for “a time” that might be commendable, but 30 YEARS? That's half or one-third of a lifetime, a little TOO long to have lived and worked in different places and still expect to be in the running as the prime minister of a country.

Hall: “Should he apologize for his education? And if so, will Harper for his master's degree?” Absolutely not. Mr. Ignatieff's many university degrees are not what I object to. It's his insistence that his academic laurels qualify him for the prime ministership of Canada that is problematic and his arrogance about his academic successes. At a recent speech in Winnipeg, he opened with great deliberation and condescension with “I am an academic.” That's supposed to inspire confidence in the Canadian public?

Hall: “You may disagree on policy, but what an absurd belittling of the minds and aspirations of Canadians this tirade is.”

You've got to be kidding. It's, rather, Michael Ignatieff who belittles the political process in Canada by being parachuted into Etobicoke-Lakeshore, instead of paying his dues in that riding, and by becoming the “leader” of the Liberal Party of Canada without a leadership vote. He operates out of a misplaced sense of entitlement, and that's my greatest concern about him.

He has no political experience outside of the past few years in the HOC — and he got there not by his own accomplishments but because he was handed the riding on a silver platter. He hasn't earned his spurs, because he's barely mounted the horse let alone proven he can ride it in all sorts of situations.

He's an inexperienced poseur, a lot like President Obama, and I fear for the future of Canada if he ever becomes Prime Minister. His strings will be pulled by hidden others with an agenda, and I wonder if they'll be pulled by the same crowd as pulled Trudeau's, Mulroney's, Chretien's, and Martin's?

John Dope……just think $80 billion deficit,after stupid GST cuts when you think of your own party.

Tories are the dumbest economc managers we have.

Liz j…… I've decided you're not intelligent enough to be a Tory which means you're not newfie.

I'm haviung fun also watching you tories squirm about losing power

In a blog some time ago I said I did not want to have a PM wo takes his orders from Washington.
Well, what do you know Mr. Ignatieff is already in Washington confabing with his old buddies. I wonder if he can persuede the brainless twitt they have for a Secretary of Security Mrs. Politano to admit that the 9/11 Terrorist did not come through Canada. What’s worse, he is not even Prime minister yet. If Harper talks to the Obama administration he does so with the full authority of his office. What authority does Ignatieff have.

Yes, Gaby , not only that. Everyone knows who caused the world wide calamity. But Ignatieff the so ” educated ” man blames the Harper Government. The massive stimulus packages was pushed onto the Government by the Liberals, and now they are howling about the Deficit. They are certainly know how to twist the truth. But they have done this for more than 17 years.

batb …. ever notice that Liberal supporters really don’t have much to say about Ignatieff? They are just using him as their nominal leader to get back to power. They don’t have anybody else of substance so they are running with what they got.

Their strategy is to demonize Harper and hope that the Canadian voter will prefer anybody but Harper, and return to the warm womb of their beloved Liberal party (I vote for the candidate and the party … not the leader).

What is truly frightening is that loyal Liberals are willing to turn the country over to somebody of the likes of Ignatieff … an interloping prodigal son, returning to the land of his mother even though he preferred the legacy of his father away from Canada.

The Liberal party has truly sunk to new depths with their lack of truly Canadian leadership. Listening to Ignatieff’s voice when he’s speaking, I have come to the conclusion that I prefer the voice of Dion .. who is more ‘Canadian’ than Ignatieff will ever hope to be.

Trickery, guile, deception … that is the strategy of the Liberal party as they attempt to install Ignatieff as their leader and next prime minister of Canada …. thus revealing the dangerous evil that lurks within the Liberal party no longer of Canada.

Harper was verey inexperienced when he first won office and had never held a real job in his life. Please don't squirt that halucinatory stuff here.

Here's more of the tory hypocrisy as displayed by the PM:

Stephen Harper, November 9, 2007: “I think it will be incumbent upon myself and also upon members of the government not to have dealings with Mr. Mulroney until this issue is resolved.”

And what was he saying just yesterday? Just the opposite
The caucus is on his case so he casually creates another lie.

We are being governed by a bunch of fools.

Geoffrey….this is a blog of angry Tories. They were all waxing elequoant about their wonderful party and the fact the Liberals were squirming in opposition until a more broad readership came along. You cannot ignite reason here with most of the posters. Their feet are anchored in Tory concrete and they don't even recognize that some self criticism could help their own party.

The Mulroney issue is a case in point. Until some members stood up to the PM there was anarchy forming in the ranks and finally Harper had to withdraw his former statement.

Attacking Iggy is just another case of putting on the anti Liberals blinders and sputtering away on any tidbit they can find. That is not poitical discussion but simply ideological drivel.

Mary T…..Ezra has gone bankrupt once trying to foist his ideological rants on Canadians. I like the way he fought the censorship issue but his ideology is very similar to the one Harper used to have until he became greedy and realized it wasn't working with the vast majority of Canadians. Not reading iggy's book simply keeps you in the cellar of real intellectual pursuits on Canadian politicians particularly one who will most likely be the next PM. You can broaden your mind and it only costs $20 or so.

Bat B…. here it is:

Madness and Popular Culture
Author: Stephen Harper
Format: Hardcover
ISBN-10: 0230218806
ISBN-13: 9780230218802

I could dig out all his NCC papers and really embarrass you about his then and now philosophy.

Bat B comment:
“and I fear for the future of Canada if he ever becomes Prime Minister. His strings will be pulled by hidden others with an agenda, “

So you think Harper is his own man and didn't have Manning or Flanagan among other right wingers as key agenda builders and mentors.

A man with Iggy's intellect doesn't need people with hidden agendas to guide him which is why he is the current leader. If you would take off your blinders you would note that he has started to rebuild the party from the ground up and has successfully raised a lot of money in just four months, enough to pay off their debt and have cash in the bank. His popularity in recent polls has soared.

“He is an inexperienced poseur” Tell us how he is inexperienced and a poseur and tell us why you fear the future of Canada keeping in mind your leader has flirted serously with separatists and continues to breath life into that movement in his quest for votes. Also keep in mind the financial disaster he has foisted upon us with his populist and irresponsible tax policies. I could go on but will let you do your comparison.

Bat B comment:
“and he got there not by his own accomplishments but because he was handed the riding on a silver platter”

Are you also saying the current PM has not done the same thing with certain people he wanted in his party. he even had an unelected cabinet minister in a very key role until the guy finally ran and lost very badly.
If Harper is the future of our democracy I become even more afraid for our country than you do about Iggy's rise to power.

Keep in mind of course harper's abuse of the parliamentary system with his unilateral call for an election last fall breaking a law passed by the house. His further abuse by getting the porogation also sticks a craw in my throat.

go for it.

Terry1, Been Around the Block here: I've already answered all of your questions. The “poseur” is as a politician. His sterling “intellect” isnl't what Canada needs to steer them through the most serious world economic crisis in 60 years. I have no trust in a man who has been shielded by trust funds and financial legacies from his family. He's even admitted that he's got no experience with RRSPs or the stock market. Like, yeah, he's going to be really on the ball when it comes to Canada and the world economy, espeically as he has no need of “people with hidden agendas to guide him.” Yup. Right.

As for Stephen Harper's book “Madness and Popular Culture,” it's a “self image book”?? In fact, are you sure it's even by Prime Minister Stephen Harper? This book was published in September 2009 (when's PMSH going to have time to write a book with all the other things on his plate) and Amazon lists Stephen Harper as the EDITOR of this book. It also lists a whole lot of other books by “Stephen Harper,” which I'm sure our PM didn't author.

Check out your sources and verify that “Madness and Popular Culture” has, in fact, been written by Canada's Prime Minister.

Over and out, Ter ry 1.

Check out this link, not Amazon, re books by “Stephen Harper”:

http://www.allbookstores.com/author/Stephen_Har…

Bat B….here's another “tory” book for you to read.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGSqsahCGqE

You've read this book Terry? You know for a fact it's a bio written by Stephen Harper, an all about Me book? Is it comparable to the all about Me Iggy book, I say I've got true patriot love, therefore I have?

It looks suspiciously like Iggy's mantra is the Kennedy quote ass backwards, it's not what I can do for my country, it's what my country can do for ME that brings me “home”.

PM Harper gets no credit for his Masters degree from his detractors in the MSM and Opposition apologists. It happens to be in economics and very useful in the political arena, most especially now.

We're sick of being told Iggy went to Harvard and other prestigious halls of learning, therefore he's fit to govern the country without having lived here for decades and with little experience in politics, or leadership for that matter. Different studies have different applications.

We are NOT belittling the minds and aspirations of Canadians, typical Liberal attempt to stifle debate. We are rightfully questioning a man we don't know who has been lured “home” and is being fast tracked by the LPC to lead the Country. We have every right to do so.

Liz J,
I know for a fact I was pulling your leg.

It looks like you view Iggy with very jaundiced eyes or blinders on.

No one needs to run for high office simply becasue their ego demands it. he is obviously a very bright guy and so is harper. The difference is that IGGY will use his intelligence to better the country and not pump right wing ideology down our throats or at least attempt to. The voters of Canada have never trusted harper and do so even less now becasue of his arrogance and ignorance of the popular mood.

Wasn't my leg you were pulling, I was simply butting in. You're unable to answer the questions so you change the channel.

You're not improving, time to go off and hum a tune. Think I'll do one by Hank Snow, “Squid Jiggin' Ground”, that's a Newfie classic no?

Will the real Stephen Harper please stand up !

Check out this site http://www.port.ac.uk/departments/academic/scaf…
which is from the University of Portsmouth in England. Dr. Stephen Harper is a Senior Lecturer in Media.

If you want to know more about his work, Terry, you can email him at stephen.harper@port.ac.uk .

Given the fickle nature of Quebec support, iggy might lose a few votes for declaring “Patriot ” love.

Kudos, Jad, for proving once again how Liberals, exemplified by Terry1, will use any means to obfuscate and distort facts.

Our busy friend here complains this site is an “angry Tory” site, yet he's the one who doesn't even have the courtesy to use the exact name of commenters, preferring to distort even those.

And as far as anger is concerned, I'm beginning to think the number of his typos is in direct correlation to HIS mounting anger.

Batb, thanks for that link. The Stephen Harper who wrote those books is this one:
http://www.chesslerbooks.com/eCart/viewItem.asp…
“About the Author
Stephen Harper's career in journalism started when, aged 16, he joined the Leicester Evening Mail, and was 'interrupted' only by service with HMS Petard during the Second World War. Harper joined the staff of the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo and then, in 1950, the Daily Express. He was based in New Delhi when he covered the Cho Oyu expedition, and later reported from various overseas posts. In 1979 he joined the BBC, initially on the foreign desk, and then with the parliamentary staff.”

Terry1 may have tried to hoodwink us by telling us “Stephen Harper” had written the aforementioned book.
He thought there is only ONE Stephen Harper in this world; in a way, he has indirectly confirmed what we conservatives have known all along: our Stephen Harper is unique, although others may share his name.

Then there is Mr. Ignatieff, who sat in university offices writing about the world from the perspective of an ivory tower. He has never has never managed a popsicle stand let alone a business, agency or not for profit group.

Well, Ter ry 1: Where are you?

'Tried to tie PM Stephen Harper to a book he had nothing to do with. 'You still contending that “Every wannabe leader has written self image books on their way to the top job”?

Don't you think that's a little too general an accusation? It seems it might apply to Liberals/Democrats, who spend an inordinate amount of time looking at themselves in the mirror and writing books about themselves before, during, and after their tenures in government. There's a word that covers this self-interest: narcissism and the adjective that goes along with it is narcissistic, neither of which apply to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Unfortunately, Terry1, you have badly damaged your credibility. Anything you say from now on will have connected to it a tinge of “hmmm … is that true … or is it just Terry1's fevered imagination or wishful thinking on his part …”?

Do your homework, Mr. Liberal Cheerleader. It seems to me that you don't know what you're talking about … an all-too-typical attribute of lib-leftards.

What a pathetic, and out to lunch comment.

Where is anyone attacking his Russian heritage? We can refer to it. We all have a heritage but we sure do not consider ourselves children of two worlds. We are Canadians first and foremost. It was the Irish, Scottish, English, French who built this Country on Judeo/Christian principles. We have welcomed many others who consider themselves Canadian.

It's the Charter and Multicultural policies of Trudeau that has played havoc with allegiances to this country. It's a very serious problem that will have to be addressed.

Yes, that Ignatieff serves up a lot of drivel.

Now let me get this straight, I'm not intelligent enough to be a Tory, so that means I'm not a
“newfie”[sic], so I “maybe” [sic] a Tory from “somewhare”[sic] else.

Beautiful reasoning from a superior intellect.

Yes, that Ignatieff serves up a lot of drivel.

Now let me get this straight, I'm not intelligent enough to be a Tory, so that means I'm not a
“newfie”[sic], so I “maybe” [sic] a Tory from “somewhare”[sic] else.

Beautiful reasoning from a superior intellect.