Embracing Change

That's settled, then. Sweep out the old ambitions and bring in the new. The federal Liberal Party now has a new president. A young, new president. He has bangs, just like Sheila Copps. A private businessman from Ontario. Someone well integrated in Ontario politics and more specifically the Ontario Liberal Party, as an adviser to Premier McGuinty on wind energy. After all, he operates a multi-million-dollar renewable power generation company.

And now he is set to track the Liberal Party toward recapturing its traditional place in government. Regenerating and renewing the Liberals. Oiling its rusty joints to prepare it to meet the smoother, more forward-looking and ultimately successful Conservative Party of Canada. Old Liberal warhorse, Sheila Copps thought she would be a better choice for her party, and she gave it a good go. The distance between the votes she received and that of the winner was not all that great.

But no, just as her latter ambitions to become leader of the party were defeated years ago, the original rat-packer is destined now to fade back into history. And the federal Liberal party will have another opportunity to send an old hack packing, when it gets around to voting for its new leader. Now ably led by another old warhorse, one that did challenge that old adage of changing his mount in mid-stream' the hobbling, recuperating party is being revitalized by Bob Rae.

He's had plenty of experience, having once been a premier himself; the prime ministership is only an elevated premiership, after all. And he has the ambition and the steely will, the wit and the ability to give as good as he gets in the House of Commons to give it a try. Although he demurs that as provisional, temporary leader he has agreed not to compete for the leadership. That claim has become fainter as time progresses.

The question is, will a grateful Liberal party membership want to hang their expectations on the skill and will of a has-been? Will they be willing to extend an opportunity to Bob Rae in reflection of his wry acceptance of their first choice in his old friend and adversary, Michael Ignatieff? Can they afford to give him his turn at the challenge of unseating the unsavoury Conservatives? Will they prefer to sweep clean their entire house and welcome someone new?

Do his values reflect those of the young Liberals who want to distance Canada officially from the British monarchy, legalize marijuana, revitalize the party for the new generations of Canadian voters? If the party's new motto is "we embrace change", how much of a change does it represent if they embrace their temporary leader as their permanent hope for change?

Just asking.