The Message Track We're Not On

As Campaign 2008 kicks off, I expect my blogging to be light. My time will be spent helping to elect Andrew Lang as the next Member of Parliament for the great riding of Toronto-Danforth. However, I do want to throw an idea out into the blogosphere. Stephane Dion is saying that he wants the opportunity during this campaign to define himself after enduring two years of Conservative attacks. His tactic seems to be to portray himself as a lean green fighting machine. All well and good, but I think we can do better. Stephane Dion is a Canadian hero and we should not be afraid to remind voters of his heroism.

Stephen Harper rightly says that we are facing turbulent times ahead. I would argue that if you want an example of leadership in crisis, look no further than Stephane Dion. When our country faced, perhaps, its greatest crisis during the 1995 Referendum and its aftermath, M. Dion showed extraordinary courage and heroism. During the referendum, M. Dion went toe to toe with Lucien Bouchard and held his own. Something all the pundits said couldn't be done. After the referendum, Stephane Dion ensured that our country would never again face the issue of national unity without clear rules and regulations. M. Dion is a hero. He put his personal reputation, his name, on the line for his country. It is that Stephane Dion that will be a great Prime Minister. We can talk policy until we're hoarse and get nowhere. Or we can talk about the character of the man who we believe should be Prime Minister.