09.08.2012 09:30 AM

Iggy, we hardly knew ye

…actually, we knew you quite well, as it turns out.

Hands up anyone who is surprised by this. Anyone? Anyone?

Didn’t think so.

51 Comments

  1. Dan says:

    In Ignatieff’s defence, he’d tell you that the people who predicted this were “not exercising judgment but engaging in ideology”. Ignatieff wants to remind us that he still has better political judgment than all of us.

    For an intellectual, he’s pretty stupid.

  2. Paul says:

    I read a political hack a few years ago state that effective political attack ads have an element of truth. Anyone know who that was?? 🙂

  3. Kaplan says:

    I don’t fault him for moving back to Harvard. So freakin’ what? He’s a private citizen again. Because he fits with what your wannabe friends at Sun Media and the Harper Cons have been saying, doesn’t change my opinion of the man: very smart, extremely thoughtful, and a leader among public intellectuals. As a politician, he was a dud, but then, looking at a lot of successful politicians, like Harper and Martin, I can’t say that being a successful politician actually impresses me all that much.

    • Patrice Boivin says:

      There may be different kinds of intelligence. Intellectual on one hand, and more of a street-smart kind on the other hand.

      The intellectual intelligence takes time, ponders, opines, can produce good overviews of situations, write good books / research papers… the street-smart kind is quicker to react at more of a gut level, perhaps more pragmatic, better able to seize opportunities in the present.

      I know in schools they like to talk about more than just two types of intelligence, I’m just trying to make a point. Spatial intelligence for example isn’t all that relevant to politics it seems to me.

  4. Tiger says:

    I’m a LITTLE surprised.

    I figured he’d stick around for awhile to stick it to the folks saying he was just visiting.

    But maybe he actually was? Go figure.

  5. Cromwell says:

    I guess the State Department thought it was time to bring him in from the cold.

  6. Riaz Khan says:

    In all fairness Mr. Kinsella, it is not like he is moving to Harvard full-time. He will continue to be at the Munk School. Dividing time between two amazing schools is not the same as ” He did not come back for you” … just saying….

  7. billg says:

    Out of curiosity, are any of the Giant Brains that thought air mailing a Harvard Professor into the Liberal Leadership role was a fantastic idea still around? Names are not necesary.

  8. David_M says:

    His political career was peppered with bad decisions starting with being convinced to come back and run.
    He could have been a success in a critics roll and after failing to win the leadership first time around he should have used that better than average brain of his and accepted that liberals were less than enthusiastic about him as leader.
    That being said, when Harvard offers you a position…
    Its like if the Coen brothers came to you and said ‘Hey, you’d be perfect in our next movie!’ what are ya gonna do?

  9. Dude Love says:

    Looks like I won the “Iggy to Harvard” pool at work.

  10. Realist says:

    I don’t see this as a big deal. It’s a half-time job, and he’s staying at U of T for the other half of the year. A guy’s gotta work.

    And I say that as someone who never thought he should be Liberal leader in the first place.

  11. Don Denesiuk says:

    I echo my G+ share comment on this.
    So why is this a bad thing? If one looks at the Academic Ranking of World Universities ( http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2012.html )
    Harvard is number one and UofT the highest ranking Canadian school is number 27. Why can Canadians not be proud that we have such a talented educator teaching at both the above institutions.
    Politics is stupid.

    • que sera sera says:

      I am amazed at the petulance, vindictiveness and downright ugliness displayed towards this international “rock star” Canadian intellectual for having the fucking audacity to run for politics in Canada.

      Shame on him, eh. Shame on him. For aspiring to public office. SHAME ON HIM! And jesus, why hasn’t he had the decency to just curl up & fucking die for quitting Canadian politics? What a moron, eh – reduced to slumming it at Harvard, another goddamn failed political loser too stupid to be sucking on the government teat in the Senate or as an Ambassador or on some Board or something. Harvard’s just for quitters.

      The petulant vindictive invisible asshole in the PM office is busy dismantling Canada and warmongering on an international scale but lets all line up on cue & throw the obligatory stones at Ignatieff.

      Pavlov’s dogs have nothing on some Canadians whenever Harper’s bell is rung.

      • Tim Sullivan says:

        Watch was you are calling our host, que!

      • frmr disgruntled Con now Happy Lib says:

        Quite frankly I dont give a rats ass what Mr. Ignatieff does post leadership…..all I know is that during his tenure the Liberal Brain trust did nothing to change the moribund operations of the Liberal HQ…why worry when you have a “messiah” at the helm?…..well where’s the messiah now?……
        During the debate, the man didnt have enough political acumen to answer a simple question by Jack Layton about his attendance(or lack thereof) in the HOC…..the man could have simply answered that he felt it more important to have direct conversations with Canadians to firm up Liberal policy, or some such answer…..what did we get instead?…..a deer caught in the headlights, and a highly intelligent, articulate man stammering, and at a loss for words…..
        With that sub-par performance, we were sunk……
        I dont blame Mr. Ignatieff particularly, but the cadre of Liberal big wig messiah seekers who threw him on the stage before he was ready for primetime…..
        Say what you will about Bob Rae, at least the man recognized that leadership was only a very small part of the problems that were endemic in the LPOC…..

  12. doug marsh says:

    STRONG
    UNITED
    MICHAEL

  13. Sean says:

    four years too late.

  14. MississaugaPeter says:

    And without the $5,930+ per month pension if he had kept his riding for another year!

  15. Rrrrise Up Boston! says:

    Pity the Best and the Brightest at Harvard who are about to get lessons on the nuances of Canadian identity from a guy who (after helping to nearly detonate a federal party) knows nothing about the country he wanted to lead.

    • Dan says:

      That assumes they want to learn.

      Maybe they just like having a foreign “liberal” who will cheer for everything they do, from phony wars to torture.

      Maybe he can write 200 hand-wringing pages to justify assassinating foreign leaders and drone strikes.

  16. The Dude says:

    After all those personal attack ads that all the sheeple automatically believed I don’t blame him one bit. What’s wrong with teaching at Harvard anyway? It’s accurate to say that his whole leadership was a mistake, but for Sun News to say “told you so” as some justification for all those personal attacks, well that’s just what pathetic “journalism” is nowadays in this country.
    How about a real story? You know, like the one about Harper never taking real press conferences and only making announcements when he’s out of the country? He IS the actual PM is he not? Shouldn’t he be the one under the microscope? That concerns me more than someone who left politics

    • Rrrrise Up Boston! says:

      And what did Iggy do to respond to the attack ads? Did he do his debate prep?

      Outside of Warren’s column the entire paper is utterly unreadable (unless one wants to delve into the bizarre minds of venting, angry old women commentators who shall remain nameless).

      But the first sentence of the Iggy story is spot-on.

  17. Pete says:

    Speaking of just visiting I was in Calgary very recently, Bragg creek to be more accurate, and was told by people in the know there that Harper has bought a piece of land along the river across the bridge and to the south about a 200 or so meters from the bridge which is just past the local shopping center and restaurant area.

  18. MCBellecourt says:

    Ignatieff has chosen to move on, and more power to him.

    It’s time the Liberals did as well and get on with the very REAL task of getting its shit together and looking towards the FUTURE.

    And, one way to do that is to find consensus with whomever is unlucky enough to end up leading this god-forsaken excuse for a party and unite in policies that say loud and clear “CANADA FIRST”.

    Nothing less will do.

  19. It’s queer how this post came after the Star Trek one. My favourite science fiction satire is “The end of the Empire” by Alexis A. Gilliland. The rebels have just won, then comes this scene with the annoying new “president,” i.e., the revolution’s figure head:

    “Now see here, Mr. Thibalt, I am the president, after all, and under this ludicrous document the president is totally devoid of any power, real or imaginary.”

    “That’s the whole idea. That’s why *you* were picked for the slot.”

    “what do you mean?”

    “You’re an intellectual, Mr. President. Intellectuals aren’t *supposed* to have power.”

  20. Anne Peterson says:

    Harper works for corporate interests, which turn out often to be US corporate interests – petroleum, private prisons, defense industry. He even raised the amount of money shoppers can spend in the US with out paying duties which certainly harmed Canadian businesses, yet he is considered a REAL Canadian. But an intelligent Canadian who has enough smarts to score a job at one of the most prestigious institutions in the world is trashed.

    Do I think Michael Ignatieff would have worked against Canadian interests, ever. No. I do not. And I don’t even vote liberal. I think he would have made decision that were a hundred times better for Canada than those of Mr. harper.

    This is just another in the long list of stupid conservative talking points.

  21. Tim Sullivan says:

    Maybe he’s going back to finish another book. Maybe Harper should join him.

    That the Liberals had someone more accomplished and who had gone further than Billings MT is not something to be ashamed of.

    He was just the wrong person … all accomplished, private sector experienced, learned, recognized in his field and stuff.

  22. Ronald O'Dowd says:

    Warren,

    Maybe Michael and Zsuzsanna are due for a breath of fresh air. For the life of me, I can’t help but think of why.

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