Poor Paul Martin
I respect Paul Martin immensely.
On so many levels, I think he got the short end of the stick- and so much of it seemed to come at the hands of Jean Chretien (either directly or indirectly).
You have to think that poor Paul Martin probably kicked in a window when he read the announcement.
Just kidding. The driving range is probably a more appropriate response.
Don’t get me wrong- I think Chretien is great. I loved how he stuck to his guns in not falling in line with Bush in the drive to crush Iraq after 9-11 even though he faced a lot of pressure and criticism for the decision. I thought it was hysterical how he choked the guy who pied him. And I was astonished and amazed by how he could get himself out of seemingly inescapable situations with aplomb (the golf ball incident anyone?)
I see Martin as the architect under which Canada got itself out of a deficit situation- a situation that we once again, find ourselves mired in (thanks a lot Harper). Martin unfortunately got a lot of the fallout from the Sponsorship Scandal that contributed greatly to the Liberal Party’s descent into minority rule and then the loss to the united Conservative Party. As capable as I think Martin is, he just doesn’t have the charisma to inspire people on a national level.
It pains me to think what the country could be doing if the NDP and PQ weren’t greedy for influence and actually played ball with Martin. If given a chance, I think Martin could have found his footing despite all the early missteps in attempting to get out from under Chretien’s shadow.
Hmmm, I could use a driving range and a bucket of balls myself.
Oh well, c’est la vie.
AngryEgg 