A few questions

Here's an interesting article in the online edition of the Toronto Star today. I find the last few paragraphs particularly telling:

On the weekend, Rae accused Ignatieff, his former university roommate, of running a "peekaboo" campaign after the former Harvard academic refused to allow the media to attend a candidates' event in Toronto. Rae's team, which is calling for weekly televised debates, is hoping that frequent exposure will trip up Ignatieff and demonstrate Rae's superior debating and political skills.

However, Ignatieff is unlikely to take the bait. He said Tuesday that he sees the contest as an opportunity to listen to Liberals.

"This is a listening campaign," he told CBC Newsworld. "It's going to work best for me if I'm in small rooms listening to Liberals. So we're playing it very quiet."

During the 2006 contest, Ignatieff championed the idea of imposing a carbon tax to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Dion ran on the proposal during last month's election but both he and the plan proved to be unpopular.

Ignatieff said Tuesday that voters have told Liberals to "come back and think again about how to reconcile environmental sustainability and economic progress." He said that's a policy challenge that can only be solved by working with other Liberals.

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A few questions to consider

1. As we look to rebuild our party, should we Liberals use this leadership race as an opportunity to listen to ourselves, or to reach out to Canadians?

2. As we look to reform our party, should we Liberals be terribly concerned about “what works best” for a particular leadership candidate?

3. As we look to reconnect with Canadians, should we Liberals, or our potential leaders, really be “playing it quiet”?

4. As we look to return to government, should we Liberals convince ourselves that the same crew that "championed" the carbon tax (not to mention other wonderful proposals such as extending our mission in Afghanistan) will come up with anything more appealing next time?