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I thought I would update this old thread rather that interrupt the ongoing battle of what "artificial" and "natural" really mean....dissertations submitted here

There are a lot of other names that have been circulating including Stephane Dion, Gerrard Kennedy, Volpe (please no!) Anne McClellan, Ken Dryden, Copps (please no x2) etc


McKenna skips Liberal leadership bid

By TERRY WEBER

Monday, January 30, 2006 Posted at 2:33 PM EST

Globe and Mail Update

Frank McKenna announced Monday that he will not run for the leadership of the Liberal party, citing the demands of the post and a reluctance to “go back for the cheese†after having escaped the “trap†of political life.

Mr. McKenna, 58, made the announcement at a news conference at the Canadian embassy in Washington.

“At the end of the day, I've been there,†he told reporters. “I've been at the centre of the storm a long time.â€

Mr. McKenna, who last week announced his resignation as Canada's ambassador to the United States, had been considered among the front runners to seek the job once outgoing Prime Minister Paul Martin vacates the post.

Monday's announcement again throws open the door to a number of other contenders who are expected to seek the Liberal leadership.

Speaking with reporters, Mr. McKenna said anyone taking the Liberal leadership job had to be ready to commit the next eight to 10 years to the post and be prepared not only to take the party through several elections but also to take Canada's top job if the party regains office.

“I reminded myself this week of my vow upon leaving office,†he said. “Having escaped the trap, I wouldn't go back for the cheese.

“Contrary to the belief of some, being prime minister of Canada has not been a burning ambition for me.â€

He described his past experience in public office as rewarding but also intensely demanding, saying it commanded virtually all of his time and attention.

“I was unable to find the appropriate balance then and I'm certain I would not be able to find the appropriate balance now,†he said.

Although surprising, Monday's announcement wasn't entirely unexpected either. Some of Mr. McKenna's friends have suggested recently that he might ultimately decide not to seek the job.

Mr. McKenna dismissed suggestions, however, that the somewhat daunting task of rebuilding the party in any way held him back.

He said Mr. Martin left the party with a “very, very strong number of seats†and left it in good stead to regain lost ground.

Instead, he said, the prospect of eventually leading the country proved too overwhelming, noting that through Canadian history most Liberal leaders have found themselves at some time in the country's highest office.

“I admire and applaud those who do and will do it, but I did my period in the limelight,†he said.

He also dismissed suggestions that he was concerned about how he would be received in Quebec, saying he has “always enjoyed wonderful support†in that province.

Last week, prime-minister-designate Stephen Harper's Conservatives won a minority government, taking 124 federal seats to the Liberals' 104.

The same night, Mr. Martin announced he would not lead the Liberals in the next election, touching off what is sure to be a heated race for the leadership of the slot.

Mr. McKenna's decision immediately after the election to leave his post as Canada's ambassador to the United States fuelled that speculation.

At that time, Mr. McKenna had said that, given his close ties with the Liberals party, it would be “virtually impossible†to establish the appearance of having Ottawa's total confidence and support.

In the United States, ambassadors traditionally resign immediately after an election.

Monday's announcement, meanwhile, again throws open the question of who will head the party.

Former deputy prime minister John Manley – another possible front runner – has already said he will not seek the slot.

Others named as possible contenders have ranged from former Newfoundland premier Brian Tobin to former NDP Ontario premier Bob Rae and MPs Scott Brison and Belinda Stronach, a Liberal MP who defected from the Conservatives during the last session.
 
No McKenna and no Manley. Whoa! At this point, anybody can take it. Trying to guess who will take it now would be just that: guessing.

Would Canadians even take Stronach seriously?
 
Tobin's also not to enthusiastic. What's wrong?

I have a feeling the Liberals' next leader won't be a credible threat to Harper. What a role reversal...
 
It will be interesting. I wonder if this means that David Herle and Tim Murphy get shown the door and booted from the Liberal Party. It coudn't happen soon enough for them.
 
Would Canadians even take Stronach seriously?
Click to expand...
I imagine we will find out in the next election. We know she will definitely be running for leadership of the party.
 
^True. She doesn't look like she's denying it.

A Harper VS Belinda fight to the death will be one for the history books. Popcorn, nachos and beer. My place Election Night.
 
I wrote a big long thing in the polls section, but this is probably the better place for it, so I'll re-post, I guess.

Well, I'm definitely undecided at this point, but it's interesting to speculate. With McKenna, Tobin, and Manley out of the race, a lot of the bigger names are gone. My take on the rest:

Brison is well-liked and respected for his performances in the House. He's also youthful and represents a complete break from the sponsorship era. He's progressive on social issues, too. Unfortunately, he's pretty far out to the right of the party on fiscal issues, and I don't think his French is that strong. He'll definitely make a strong showing, though, as the only Maritimer now that Tobin and McKenna are out.

Martin Cauchon will also get support as the only Quebecker that seems interested in the job. He'll also get points from the party faithful for his stands as justice minister on same-sex and marijuana. He's very closely tied to the Chretien era in Quebec, though, which will cause him problems.

From the GTA, there are a stack of possible candidates, which is somewhat fitting since close to half the Liberal seats come from around here.

I can't see how Maurizio Bevilacqua and Joe Volpe can both run, since they would seem to appeal to the same constituencies. Volpe has strong support among multicultural communities, especially in the GTA, which should serve him well. He'll also benefit from being multilingual. His low profile in the rest of the country will cause him problems, though. Bevilacqua has been quietly trying to build an organization ever since he was shut out of the first Martin cabinet.

Allan Rock might toss his hat into the ring and pick up most of the Chretienite support. He could position himself as the candidate of the progressive wing, too. He may also be out of a job if Harper decides to send somebody to be a bit more buddy-buddy with John Bolton. Of course, he has all the baggage that being a Chretien-era cabinet minister entails, and his abortive run at the last leadership might scare some potential supporters away.

Then there's Belinda Stronach. She clearly has the money to mount a campaign, and she will have a certain constituency. It's also essential to have a strong female candidate in the race, and she could serve that role. She didn't have any disasters as a cabinet minister, but she didn't really stand out, either. Her French is also unimpressive, and her shallow roots in the party won't help. Bottom line, though, she isn't that much of a politician. With a bus-load of potential leadership delegates walking by and eager to meet her, she didn't know to go out and shake hands.

Sheila Copps will likely throw her hat into the ring, too. She's an indefatigable campaigner and, by contrast with Stronach, a master politician. She'll also appeal to certain elements of the progressive wing. On the other hand, this is the third time around and she hasn't exactly helped herself by sniping at the party from the pages of the Toronto Sun.

A possible dark horse is Ken Dryden. He's thoughtful, scrupulously honest, somewhat bilingual, and completely unconnected to the sponsorship era. He's been a successful and well-regarded minister, and he'd also have a certain natural profile in Quebec. He doesn't have that much experience, though and he's not much of an orator. Then again, neither is Stephen Harper...

I'll save Ignatieff for later, and tack on Bob Rae. His reputation has been redeemed somewhat, he's experienced in a sense, and he's quite thoughtful and intelligent. Unfortunately for him, his record as premier will certainly not help, many Liberals won't warm to someone with such a long NDP history, and his profile isn't that great outside of Ontario. Still, with his brother supporting him he could be a formidable force. It remains to be seen, though, whether he would run since he's best friends with Ignatieff.

Bill Graham might also have been a strong candidate with money to fund a bid, a strong record as minister, and bilingualism on his side. Since he's likely to become interim leader, he clearly isn't interested in running.

On the prairies, there are the two top people from the Martin cabinet, McLellan and Goodale. The former should be a dream candidate: a female Liberal from Alberta. She suffers, though, from a lack of French, a difficult portfolio in the last cabinet, and, of course, the fact that she lost her seat. Goodale is widely respected, but he isn't particularly charismatic and did get hurt a bit by the income trust smear. Ultimately, though, neither have ever shown much leadership ambition and are unlikely to take a run this time.

Lloyd Axworthy is the dream candidate of some of the progressive wing of the party, and his Nobel-prize-nominee record as foreign minister will serve him well. On the other hand, he's definitely not new blood. It remains to be seen whether he'll run. His strong opposition to Ignatieff might draw him in.

In B.C., there's a wide field. Dosanjh is experienced on paper (a provincial premier) and is a member of a visible minority community. On the other hand, like with Bob Rae, many Liberals would be anxious about voting in a fairly unsuccessful former NDP premier. Memories of the Grewal affair might re-emerge, as well. Emerson is well-respected and has no ties to the sponsorship era, but he suffers from poor French and a relatively low profile.

Somebody's also clearly going to run as the anti-same-sex candidate. I doubt Tom Wappel will go in again, and it'll be hard for a cabinet minister who voted in favour to take on that role. It remains to be seen who will come out of the woodwork.

Then there's Michael Ignatieff. It seems inconceivable that someone who's been out of the country for over 25 years could sweep back in and take the leadership of the Liberal party. He also supported the Iraq war, opposition to which was, to the Liberal base, possibly the most popular decision ever taken by PM Chretien. He suffers from a somewhat condescending manner to go with his unpopular policy positions. He has a constituency, though, wich a number of Liberals being swept up into supporting someone they see as a Trudeau-esque figure. I can't see him winning the race because there's no way it will be won on the first ballot, and he's the type that you either support or don't: he's unlikely to be a second-choice to many.

Recall that the Liberal membership is well to the left of the party in government. The convention system is set up such that over 40% of delegates can be youth. At the last policy convention, support was quite overwhelming for positions including legalizing prostitution, legalizing marijuana, opposing missile defence, and supporting same-sex marriage. Same-sex was supported in such a landslide that they didn't even need to count: a show of hands was sufficient. This could play a major role in the wide-open contest that seems likely to occur this time.

In fact, it's the first wide-open federal Liberal leadership in over three-quarters of a century. The only one that couldn't be considered a complete coronation was Trudeau vs Winters, and even that was only a two-man race.

Just my thoughts...it'll be interesting to see how this all plays out.
 
Bill Graham (politician)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



The Honourable William C. (Bill) Graham, PC, MP, QC, B.A.(Hon.), LL.D, D.U., (born March 17, 1939, in Montreal, Quebec) is Canada's Minister of National Defence, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs. Since February 1, 2006, he is the interim parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party, and will serve as Leader of the Oppositon when Parliament reconvenes.


Personal life

Graham grew up in Montreal and Vancouver. He attended Upper Canada College, Trinity College, Toronto, the University of Toronto and the University of Paris where he received his Doctorate in Law. While attending Trinity College he served as XCVI, the 96th scribe of the Venerable Father Episkopon. After some time in private practise, he went on to become a professor at the University of Toronto teaching subjects such as International Trade Law. He has been a visiting lecturer at the Université de Montréal and McGill University.

Graham is married and has two children and three grandchildren.

He has occasionally been targeted by rumours in now-defunct Frank alleging that he is bisexual. The magazine claimed Graham had an affair with a teenage boy. As a result of the Frank allegations, Conservative MP Cheryl Gallant once heckled Graham in the House by shouting "Ask your boyfriend!" at him as he answered a question. Gallant later expressed regret over the remark, conceding it was inappropriate. Although Graham's riding includes Toronto's Church and Wellesley gay village, and he consequently has a gay-friendly voting record in the House of Commons, Graham has never publicly acknowledged the Frank rumours in any way.

In 1960, Graham drove a Land Rover from England to Pakistan and back. The adventure took five months.


Political life

He was first elected as MP for the riding of Rosedale (now Toronto Centre) in 1993. He was re-elected in the same riding in 1997, 2000, 2004 and 2006. Toronto Centre is one of the most diverse ridings in Canada, including upper-class neighbourhoods such as Rosedale and Cabbagetown, public housing developments (Moss Park and Regent Park). Church and Wellesley, the gay village is also in this riding.

In parliament, Graham became a member and then the chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade. He was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in a cabinet shuffle by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien in January 2002. In December 2003, the new Prime Minister, Paul Martin, appointed Graham to the same position in his cabinet. In the cabinet shuffle that followed the 2004 Canadian election, Graham was moved to the Defence portfolio. He later made controversal remarks about Canada paying the price if it did not join the missile defense program with the United States.

Bill Graham is a former member of the Trilateral Commission.

He has been named interim parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party of Canada (and thus, Leader of the Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons), while the party holds its leadership convention. Martin, however, has announced he will remain Leader of the Liberal Party until the convention


Honours

The University of Toronto Faculty of Law has established the William C. Graham Chair in International Law and Development.

For his work in promoting French language and culture in Ontario (he is a past president of the Alliance française of Toronto):

* Prix Jean-Baptiste Rousseaux
* Médaille d'argent de la ville de Paris (City of Paris Silver Medal)
* Gold Medal of the Alliance française
* Ordre du mérite de l'Association des juristes d'expression française de l'Ontario (Order of Merit of the Association of French-speaking Jurists of Ontario)
* Chevalier of the Legion of Honour
* Chevalier of the Ordre de la Pléiade
 
Ian Urquhart's view of Bob Rae (possibly) entering the fray from today's Toronto Star...

Good reasons for Bob Rae to get back into federal politics
Feb. 1, 2006. 01:00 AM
IAN URQUHART

Former Ontario premier Bob Rae for federal Liberal leader?

It sounds improbable, but there are people working behind the scenes to make it happen.

"There are a lot of people who are asking me to consider it," Rae acknowledged yesterday.

But he quickly added that he is conducting a probe into the 1985 Air India bombing on behalf of the federal government and his terms of reference preclude him from engaging in partisan political activity.

Of course, a new prime minister (Stephen Harper) will be sworn in next Monday, and he is on the record as favouring a judicial inquiry into the Air India bombing.

Rae is not a judge, so his tenure on the Air India file may be rapidly coming to a close. And with it will go his excuse for not getting back into partisan politics.

There are still, of course, many reasons to be skeptical about a Rae candidacy for the federal Liberal leadership — not the least of which is that he is not a card-carrying Liberal.

He was once a Liberal — way back in 1968 when he worked on Pierre Trudeau's leadership campaign. But he became a New Democrat in the mid-1970s.

He was elected three times to the House of Commons under the NDP banner before becoming leader of the provincial New Democrats, whom he took to power in 1990.

Although he ceased being a card-carrying New Democrat in 1998 and my predecessor in this column (Tom Walkom) has argued that he was always a Liberal at heart, Rae would still face "turncoat" charges if he ran for Paul Martin's job.

To be sure, two other turncoats are expected to enter the race — Belinda Stronach and Scott Brison, both former Conservatives. But they have the advantage of having run as Liberals in the most recent federal election.

Another problem for Rae is that his recession-plagued term as premier — 1990 to 1995 — is not exactly remembered fondly by Ontarians.

Nonetheless, he would bring considerable assets to the leadership race.

Political experience? Rae's CV — federal and provincial, government and opposition — is longer than all of the other potential candidates combined, now that Frank McKenna and Brian Tobin have pulled out of the race.

French? Rae's is good and, more to the point, better than most of the other potential candidates.

Public profile? High and generally favourable, as he has achieved "statesman" status with his work on such causes as saving the Toronto Symphony and investing in post-secondary education.

Age? He's 57, a decade younger than Martin.

Liberal links? His brother, John Rae, was a key actor in the Jean Chrétien regime. And in his corner at Queen's Park is former finance minister Greg Sorbara, who remains a powerful force in the party.

Finances? Through his own contacts at his Bay Street law firm and his brother's at Power Corp. (where he is executive vice-president), that should not be a problem.

Geography? His long-time home is Toronto, which has replaced Montreal as the epicentre of the federal Liberal party.

To test the appetite for his candidacy, Rae is being urged to declare that he is considering throwing his hat in the ring and then go on a cross-country tour to talk to party members.

Will he do it? In the end, Rae, who has self-mockingly described himself as a "recovering politician," will have to look deep inside his soul and ask whether he really wants to re-enter the stressful world of politics for another decade (which is what it might take to capture the leadership, win power and serve at least one term in government).

Interestingly, if Rae did run for federal Liberal leader, he would likely find himself pitted against his old college roommate, Michael Ignatieff, whom he still calls "a very good friend."

----------------------------------------------------------

Ian Urquhart's provincial affairs column appears Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
iurquha@thestar.ca
 
Public profile? High and generally favourable, as he has achieved "statesman" status with his work on such causes as saving the Toronto Symphony and investing in post-secondary education.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but being involved in the PSE issue (particularly the Rae Reviews) back when I was a grad student, I lost a lot of respect for Rae - he had his mind made up from the beginning, and didn't care for dissenting views, from students, faculty, anyone else.

Bring on Ken Dryden.
 
Belinda Stronach next Liberal leader????
Very unlikely and I hope not. Mrs. Stronach has so much more to learn about politics and for her to take a big jump so sudden could not only tarnish her image but that of the Liberal party. I believe she is taking french lessons(a must and positive step in becoming PM). She has the potential but still needs the experience and credibility.
I'd love to see Stronach be our Prime Minister when Hillary becomes President. What a tandem they'll be.
My vote would have went for McKenna but since he's out, if could just about be anyone.

Where's Carolyn Parrish when you need her!?!?!?!?!
 
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