In response to Antonio

In typical Fiddle Faddle fashion, Antonio goes out on a baseless attack on Bob Rae, this time accusing him of "desperately perpetrating" (note: I think he meant "perpetuating") the lie that Michael Ignatieff supports torture.

Bob Rae did no such thing.

Antonio and his fellow Iggy Nationalists, in what was perhaps the rudest display in this entire campaign, were seemingly too busy heckling the other candidates that they forgot to listen. Or maybe they just didn't want to listen. Either way, Bob Rae never raised torture during the debate. Bob quoted the following passage from Michael Ignatieff's May 2nd, 2004 Op-Ed in the New York Times Magazine, and questioned its consistency with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms which Mr. Ignatieff claims to support:

"To defeat evil, we may have to traffic in evils: Indefinite detention of suspects, coercive interrogations, targetted assassinations, even preemptive war."

I note that Michael Ignatieff has never backed away from that statement.

The main question Liberals need to ask themselves is the following: Are Dr. Ignatieff's views as an American academic consistent with our longstanding Liberal traditions, particularly as they relate to the Charter? Furthermore, should Canada be a "trafficker in evils," as the good Harvard professor suggests?

The answer, in my humble opinion, is no.

Good on Bob Rae for asking the tough questions. And good on Stephane Dion for backing him up.