…on Fight The Right book tour. When not in front of a microphone, tomorrow, you may find me at Villa Souvlaki, consuming my body weight in their signature dish. Over and out.

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Here.

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Me on Strombo’s panel, last week. Was fun. Click on the link, at about the 14 minute mark.

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If you want an example of why conservatives have gotten so good at winning, take look at Toronto mayor Rob Ford.

We’re serious.

Many, many folks in and around Toronto regard Ford as an unmitigated disaster. A loser. Just a year ago, for instance, Ford was named the “World’s Worst Person” by a U.S. TV show. He is, in the opinion of many, an oaf and a poltroon.

Many, many folks in Toronto dislike him intensely, and not just lefties like me, either. They are embarrassed that he is mayor of Toronto, a city that regularly aspires to be world class.

Ford’s mistakes and missteps happen daily. They are legion. Most recently, he has been the subject of a great big conflict-of-interest scandal, wherein he has gotten in trouble for his involvement with a high school football team. Ford, who evidently sees his coaching duties as more important that anything else on earth, has used taxpayer resources to support the team.

When lobbyists donated thousands to a high school football foundation, Ford was ordered to pay the money back. He refused. He then voted on the resulting mess, and even gave a speech defending his willingness to take the money.

For that, he may well be removed as mayor. A judge’s decision is expected soon.

UPDATE: I just noticed that a few paragraphs I submitted are not in the version above. Here they are:

One time, while drunk at a Leafs game, he insulted a couple visiting from out of town – and then denied it when caught. Later, he likened Asian people to “dogs,” and apparently regarded it as a complement.

When running for Mayor, this newspaper found out Ford had been previously arrested in Florida for drunk driving and marijuana possession. When we asked him about it, he lied. Until confronted with the evidence, that is, and then he admitted to the run-in with the law.

Around the same time, he was caught on tape indicating his willingness to pick up a street drug for a junkie. Earlier, he suggested that if people are gay, they shouldn’t be surprised if they contract AIDS.

He has been photographed reading while driving on a Toronto highway. He has been accused of giving the finger to a child, again while driving.

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Liz Thompson:

“Fight the Right accomplishes what it sets out to do – provide readers with a glimpse into the kinds of strategies that have made Conservatives successful and lay out a credible road map for progressive forces to regain power.”

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And I needed to be reminded of Summer. This did the trick. Boogie-boarding, Kennebunk, August. Perfect.

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I’ve received some pretty angry responses to the brief post below about the Trudeau folks from, er, Trudeau folks. Some have even taken the form of anonymous comments, which aren’t all that anonymous (I.P. and other identifying stuff load automatically).

Here’s my point, for those too obtuse to understand it: staffers shouldn’t talk about strategy in the media. Neither should candidates, for that matter.

When he oversaw the winning of three back-to-back majorities for Jean Chretien, John Rae would often say this: “When losing, say nothing. When winning, say less.” I don’t think he ever gave a single interview.

I mentioned that line to Don Guy, the Ontario Liberal campaign boss, and he had it made into a sign which went on the war room wall in 2003, 2007 and 2011. He didn’t give interviews about his world view, either.

In fairness, the Trudeau kids aren’t doing anything that a lot of the Martin, Dion and Ignatieff folks didn’t do, too. All of them were seduced by the media, and went along with fawning profiles about staff, interviews with Peter C. Newman, and so on.

But, in each of those cases, it’s interesting to note that no one ever found out all that much about the staff on the Conservative side. The Con staff refused to give interviews about anything. We all remember who won those elections, don’t we?

And while we are on this subject – which should be deeply boring for any sensible person – I don’t work for the Trudeau campaign. I don’t work for the Liberal Party of Canada, either. Instead, I am paid to write my views about politics. Most of the time, I’m pretty pro-Liberal. But not all the time.

Got that, Team Trudeau? I don’t work for Justin. And, in my opinion, nobody should be hearing about who does.

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Values, in politics, aren’t something. They’re everything.

So, too, is speaking with clarity and confidence.

Last week, both notions — having a set of values and communicating them to voters with conviction — were readily on display, in Canada and the U.S.

In Montreal, Justin Trudeau stepped up to a podium to talk, over and over, about “middle-class values.” And then, the next night in Denver, Mitt Romney stepped up to a podium to talk, almost as much, about “middle-class values.”

It was quaint, of course, to listen to two men born into privilege and power speak so earnestly about the mythic middle class. Neither has ever been part of it, not on a single day of their lives. Both weren’t just born with a silver spoon in their mouths — Romney and Trudeau came into this world equipped with silver shovels.

But there they were, talking like regular guys about everyday values stuff. Identity. Authenticity. Hope. Empathy.

And, in so doing — in a direct and forceful way — Trudeau and Romney pulverized their opponents.

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…or six of Stephen Harper’s most senior aides? Can’t, can you?

Exactly.

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Not because of the nascent Liberal leadership race. Not for top secret political meetings.

It’s way, way more important than that.

My daughter is graduating from high school, and she is checking out university journalism programs. Like at my alma mater, Carleton.

Yes, yes, I am old. You don’t have to remind me. Go jump in Dow’s Lake.

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