A raw deal for Garneau

The well-known former astronaut and Westmount resident was being touted as a heavy favourite to carry his riding in the next election. But his bid to replace out-going MP Lucienne Robillard on the local ballot was reportedly nixed by Liberal leader Stéphane Dion.

Now Garneau, whose high profile, unblemished reputation and local address makes him an ideal candidate for Westmount-Ville Marie, has withdrawn his services from the Liberals, leaving Dion and the rest of the party in a most precarious position — floundering around with a shortage of decent candidates and woefully unprepared for an election that could be called very soon.

No one can blame Mr. Garneau for snatching back his hat from the ring — especially after being denied not only the Westmount nomination but also a chance to run on the Outremont ballot as well. And look what happened there! We'll never know if he would have won against the NDP's Thomas Mulcair, but he certainly would have done much better than Mulcair's Liberal rival, (pause here as I look up the name) Jocelyn Coulon.

Years ago, Progressive Conservative leader Joe Clark was a favourite butt of jokes around the office water cooler; in the States, they had Vice-President Dan Quayle. Even the Bloc's Gilles Duceppe had a hard time living down his ill-advised shower-cap photo op — an unflattering image that remained etched in voters' minds for years afterward. Will Dion become our next object of national ridicule, simply by mismanaging his candidates in what could be the most crucial election for the Liberals in recent history?

At the time of Garneau's announcement, it was immediately assumed that Dion was extracting his revenge on the former astronaut for backing Micheal Ignatieff in last year's Liberal leadership race. If that really is the reason behind the whole thing, Dion is even less qualified to lead the party, let alone be our next prime minister. It is the job of a national party leader to win elections, not engage himself in petty schoolyard vendettas.

Either way, Westmount-Ville Marie has lost a potential candidate who could have won the riding and provided local representation — something that we have been missing for many years.