Where Are You, Paul Martin?

I've voted Liberal for several years, although I won't necessarily call myself a Liberal. I like Pierre Trudeau though, and I don't care who knows it!! He was a fantastic leader and represented us well. Yes, he did put the country in debt, but he did good things with the money. He raised our standard of living, he put us on the world map, he made us independent - no longer a colony.

I thought Jean Chretien was a good choice, he seemed so sincere in his love of Canada. Boy, was I wrong. After the first term, my attitude was... at least he didn't do any harm. He actually didn't do much of anything. Maintaining the status quo was fine for me. Then all the scandals started, and I came to realize he really is the teflon prime minister portrayed by the media.

Then came Paul Martin. He balanced the books; he gave us a surplus; he was a businessman - not a lawyer. I really, really liked him. If I had any criticism of him it was that he was not more critical of his own party. I think he was quietly cleaning up the mess in the liberal party, but he should have been more vocal. I think people forget that the surplus Harper spent is the surplus Martin gave us.

But then he left.

Stephane Dion is a brilliant man - even if he is hard to understand. One needs to remember that he was the brains behind the liberals - this little scholarly man. If I were voting for the smartest candidate, Dion would have my vote, hands down.

But is he a leader? Will people respect him? Will the world respect him? Is he fit to follow in the footsteps of Trudeau and Martin???

Paul Martin - why have you forsaken us? I wish he would start a new party and come back. Wouldn't that be exciting? I'd even break my rule against giving a political party money. Heck, I'd help him campaign if I thought it would help.

Maybe I should write him a letter and beseech him to re-enter politics. Is he in the phone book???


This work by Suzette Leeming is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License.