I ended up at the sparsely attended late night Kennedy hospitality event last and had a chance to meet him. This weekend Kennedy was the kingmaker as he backed Stephane Dion which essentially helped secure his victory for leadership.
Tasha asks Kennedy why he backed Dion and kind of gets an answer.
Martha Hall Findlay was an impressive candidate for Liberal leadership. As a conservative, we have fundamental differences on policy but I think that she deserved much more respect (read votes) than she got at the convention.
The Liberals have selected Stephane Dion as the next leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.
The main thing that I noticed after his selection and the initial cheering, it seemed as though the energy of the room became flat. The mood seemed more of acceptance and acknowledgement rather than excitement.
A media friend remarked the same. It seemed like the mood of the convention became anti-climactic too soon.
Delegates here either hated the idea of a Rae-led Liberal Party or one led by Michael Ignatieff. Nobody hates Stephane Dion. He actually seems like a nice guy. However, as I said previously, he’s not the type of guy to lead his troops over the hill of the electoral battlefield.
The mood of delegates seems to be “Stephane Dion? Good enough.”