Jason Cherniak, who is Liberal leadership candidate Stephane Dion’s point man in the blogosphere, makes a neat observation: Dion has managed to win endorsements for the top Liberal spot from left-of-centre Toronto Star columnist Haroon Siddiqui; the right-of-centre establishment voice that is the Globe and Mail’s editorial board; and from the further right-of-centre blue-collar editorial writers at the Toronto Sun.
Siddiqui:
“Dion is Captain Canada. As the author of the Clarity Act, he showed conviction and courage amid much abuse in his home province. Canadians owe him a deep gratitude for tethering the separatists to the rule of law, Canadian law.”
The Globe:
“What he lacks in charisma he makes up for in common sense. He possesses a remarkably clear-eyed view of the possibilities. That he has been the most lucid on the crucial unity file is unsurprising, but he has also presented a compelling vision of a 21st-century environmental economy. If a leader is going to exercise mastery over any files, those are among the most important.
But Mr. Dion has mastered more than that. Through the campaign, he has shown that he has mastered the art of politics. He has gained a love of the game, perhaps from watching the likes of Mr. Chrétien close up. While he has been burdened with an image as a stiff academic, he has added humour, passion and humility to his defining attributes of intelligence and principle.
There is no perfect choice for Liberal delegates, but Stéphane Dion comes the closest to deserving their support for leader.”
Here’s the Sun:
“Stephane Dion [is] our choice for leader because he was willing to fight for Canadian unity when it counted, despite the fact most of his academic peers in Quebec were separatists, who made his life hell. That took courage. While we think he's out to lunch in his support of the pie-in-the-sky Kyoto accord, we also think he's smart enough and tough enough to be a leader. “