Ignatief admits: "I live in a void." Liberal election hopes? Nevermind.

As the election draws to its closing days it is becoming more and more apparent that the Liberal effort has fallen very flat.

And as they see their numbers perhaps drop below the NDP, Michael Ignatieff's commentary becomes more and more strained and, well, self-defeating.  Today he is reported as stating that he wasn't aware of recent suggestions that he was seeking inspiration from Chairman Mao, defending his ignorance of the widespread news story, by saying that his campaign staff shields him from the goings on around him and that, to use his own words, "I live in a void."

As reported in The Chronical Herald today:

On the day after the English leaders debate, Sun newspapers across Canada ran a front page photo of Michael Ignatieff with the headline: What the Mao? Ignatieff Channels Chairman.


The Quebecor chain, the largest circulation newspaper group in the country, linked Ignatieff to murderous Chinese dictator Mao Zedong because during the debate the federal Liberal leader said "let some flowers bloom here," calling for greater openness in Canadian democracy.

The Sun suggested Ignatieff was quoting Mao, who famously called for Chinese officials to "let a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend," before a brutal crackdown.


When he was informed of the Sun’s headline Saturday in a Halifax interview with The Chronicle Herald, Ignatieff laughed long and hard.

"I missed it," he said, and laughed again.

"They shield," Ignatieff said, referring humorously to his campaign staff, who decide what news he sees. "I live in a void."

And the dialogue doesn't get any better.

As he continues to try and take the moral high ground, talking about "respect for democracy" and such things, who does he drag out to exemplify the "high water mark" in Canada for total disdain for democracy and the poster-boy for the not-that-long-ago Liberal Adscam fiasco?  Jean Chretien.

I commented early in the campaign that it was a great mistake for the Liberals to show so little humility in failing to fully account for the widespread left of tax payer dollars by their party, and then have the audacity to complain about what they allege to be a lack of accountability and respect for democracy by the Conservatives.

Even Liberal stalwart CBC can no longer ignore the Liberal arrogance, reporting today that:

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff appeared on Quebec TV Sunday, where he denied campaign appearances by former prime ministers Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin risks reminding voters of the sponsorship scandal that contributed to his party's fall from power five years ago.


Appearing on the popular Sunday program Tout le monde en parle, Ignatieff was asked whether the Chretien and Martin campaign events could backfire on the party.

The Liberal leader said the party has "paid for all the consequences of past behaviour," referring to the sponsorship scandal, and he said the two Liberal prime ministers will be remembered for restoring the country's finances and record spending in health care.

Yes.

We all recall the humble response of Jean Chretien, accepting full responsibility for the graft throughout his party under his leadership.

Don't we.

The dismal numbers for the Liberal party are, in fact, well deserved.

Michael Ignatieff seeks to be the next Prime Minister of Canada?

Nevermind.