Liberal Party president says...

Alf Apps, the Liberal Party president, did an interview on CTV's Question Period today that I found useful and informative.... good questions, good answers.  My colleague, Jim Travers, Star columnist, as well as my  friend, Greg Weston of Sun Media, joined hosts Jane Taber and Craig Oliver in asking Apps about the state of the official Opposition. Here's the transcript:

CRAIG OLIVER: Mr. Apps, a couple of easy questions. How much trouble do
you think you're in, exactly, and how in the world are you going to get
yourself out of it?

|ALFRED APPS (Liberal Party President): Well I don't think we're in that
much trouble at all. I think that every opposition leader that I've
worked with who's gone on to become Prime Minister or premier has gone
through a rough patch after the initial honeymoon. And clearly we've
been through a bit of a rough patch. But I think that if we focus on
what we should be focusing on, and if the leader and the caucus and the
party as a whole across the country do what they should be doing, I
don't think that it will take us long to get out of this period of
difficulty.

|TRAVERS: Mr. Apps, as most Canadians know, this week Ian Davey was
pushed aside as the leader's chief of staff. But it's my understanding
that Mr. Davey was not the primary architect of the strategies which
have gotten the Liberals into so much trouble, that those in fact were
Mr. Ignatieff's decisions and calls. So how does replacing him, even
with someone as competent as Peter Donolo, and well-respected here,
solve your problem? How does it put you on the road to recovery? Isn't
the problem with the leader, not with the staff?

|APPS: Well, first of all, I'm not going to speculate as to whose advice
led to decisions that have caused us some difficulty. What I will say is
that Mr. Ignatieff has clearly taken responsibility and taken charge. I
think there's two really important things about the decisions that he
took this week, the first are, the first is that he got himself out of
his comfort zone in terms of reaching out to people who hadn't been part
of his inner circle, and the second thing is that he demonstrated to the
party and to the country that he could attract real talent to the table.
Peter Donolo, I'm sure if people were thinking of replacing the chief of
staff, at the top of, you know, thousands of Liberals' lists across
Canada, if that were the question, Peter Donolo was the choice, and the
fact that he was able to secure him I think is a tremendous compliment
or a tremendous testament to his abilities.

|TABER: Yeah, Greg?

|GREG WESTON (Sun Media): Mr. Apps, Mr. Ignatieff, in a speech in
Toronto, made a reference to, he said trying times test the greatness of
leaders. I think we'd all agree that Mr. Ignatieff has been through his
share of trying times. It's hard to believe they could get any more
trying, frankly. Why have Canadians not seen the greatness yet? What
does he need to do?

|APPS: Well, you know, it's funny, the media talk about these as, oh,
times, it's the worst of times. You know I can tell you, I remember when
the media had written off Jean Chretien, I remember when the media had
written off Dalton McGuinty, I remember when the media had written off
Stephen Harper, so I'm not sure that, you know, your perception of
things in the long game is accurate. But, you know, I would say this,
Michael Ignatieff, there's no question in my mind, if the country is
looking for hope and for change, then when the time comes they're going
to see that in Michael Ignatieff. And I think the fact that Peter Donolo
is there to help him craft the content of his message and the substance
of his message is just a plus. But Michael Ignatieff, I think, is
absolutely going to be able to demonstrate at a time when Canadians have
become very cynical about politics and very cynical about partisanship,
he's going to be able to demonstrate what Canadians are looking for for
21st century leadership.

|TRAVERS: If I can just follow up on Greg's question about leadership.
You were part of the team, if you will, that went to Harvard and
convinced Mr. Ignatieff to come home, and I wonder how much due
diligence you did on some of Mr. Ignatieff's writings, and some of,
particularly on his positions on the Iraq invasion and on torture,
because there are obviously tremendous things in Mr. Ignatieff's CVs,
but there are also some ticking time bombs there, some of which the
Conservatives have made full advantage of, or taken full advantage of in
their advertising, and I just wonder, did you see greatness where you
should have also seen some flaws and some political dangers?

|APPS: We, first of all, I should say that I, before I ever met Michael
Ignatieff I'd read virtually everything he'd written, so there was
nothing that came as a surprise to me. The second thing I would say is,
when we went to get Michael Ignatieff, believe it or not, just like when
I was involved in recruiting John McCallum, or Paul Martin, or Jean
Augustine, or any number of prominent Liberals, including some for this
next election, whenever it comes, I can tell you clearly and absolutely
we weren't thinking about recruiting him for leadership, we were
recruiting him for the team. The third thing I would say, really, really
clearly, is that this suggestion that Michael Ignatieff has anything but
a clear and unqualified position against torture is just a game being
played by people. It's not supported by the record. And I'm not worried
about what he's written at all. What he, those who actually read his
writings in full, in context, are going to come across one of the most
thoughtful thinkers about both international and domestic public policy
that's appeared on the Canadian scene. So I've got no question about that.

|OLIVER: Well many of us may agree with you about his being a brilliant
thinker, but why aren't we seeing some result of that in terms of policy
ideas coming out of his office, especially ideas which differentiate you
Liberals from the Conservative government and Mr. Harper?

|APPS: I find it amusing when the opposition party is in opposition that
the media are constantly pressing us to lay out our wares, constantly
put your big ideas in front of the public. The reality is the government
has been elected to govern, and we will come out with a platform when
Canadians are ready to make their choice because we're into a general
election. Mr. Ignatieff has been very forthright in speeches on foreign
policy, on the, on energy and the environment, and on a range of areas,
including most recently issues affecting women, the general principles
of which he's following. Now the big bold ideas that you want to see,
the brilliant strokes that the media are looking for, why would we lay
those out, why would we telegraph those to a government that has in its
unbelievably cynical partisan way taken everything that's said, twisted
it out of context, perverted the meaning, perverted the message? Why
would we do that in advance when we haven't got a level playing field to
lay those ideas out?

|TABER: Mr. Apps, we have to let you go. Thank you very much for
participating in our segment today. We really appreciate your time.

|APPS: It was great being here. Thanks very much.

Comments

[Wascally Wabbit]

Rocco Rossi made reference to the Spanish Inquisition (well - the monty Python version) and I tend to agree with Rocco. Not much regard for the CTV Question Period crew, even with the supplementary wisdom of your colleague Mr. Travers on the rosta.

That having been said - I think Mr. Apps missed two golden opportunities. He refered to Mr. Ignatieff as "being recruited to be a member of the team". It never seemed that way to me. However, let's assume that to be the case! Then, why isn't Mr. Apps - indeed Mr. Ignatieff too - emphasizing the team - the depth of talent in that team. I agree that Mr. Ignatieff gives his team members far more scope to speak on their files than Mr. Harper ever does with his "flowerpots" (Heck we hear more from Dimitri than we do the typical cabinet minister).
The second point is he comments - quite fairly on the cynicism generated by the CPC's approach to politics in the last 4 years. There is a perception that Mr. Ignatieff wants to try the higher road. Surely - that should include taking the risk (realistic that it is) that by unveiling a much more detailed view of his vision, he will see it stolen or propagandized by negative advertising.
Heck - Obama's vision stirred millions to get involved for the first time. With Mr. Ignatieff, the great communicator, and now Mr. Donolo, the great "messager" - surely that is a mighty small risk? Otherwise, why are they there?

[Dave]

I watched this interview and it was pretty much predictable. Apps praising how the Liberal party is OK and will come out with great "visionary" ideas during the election. So do they want an election still?or not? Also Travers giving softball set up questions was predictable as normal fare from him. So what is the news here from this? It is useful and informative?for whom?

[Sarann]

Good on him. The role of the opposition is to vigorously question the government, a role the conservatives and the press are trying to convince us is not legitimate. How often do the conservatives yell 'you are politicizing the issue' to get out of answering questions as though the opposition has no right. Issues must be politicized and discussed or we no longer have a democracy.

[Eric Pearson]

As Democrats of the Democratic Party, we are joining together in seeking reform within the Democratic Party.

Many of our elected representatives within the Democratic Party are no longer following in the time-honored footsteps laid down by the founding fathers of our great Nation. More importantly, we as democrats see our elected representatives within the Democratic Party abandoning the values and principles as set forth within the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.

Nonetheless, this is only the beginning of our problems as Democrats, for the current Democratic Party leadership is tainted by corruption and being taken over by Socialists. These Socialists are clearly a threat to everything we hold sacred in America, and they are gaining evermore control over our Democratic Party, our Nation, and the American people.

Despite this, we as Democrats can restore control of the Democratic Party back to the party members. All we need to do is cut off donations to the local, state, and national headquarters of the Democratic Party, and to make sure the donations are made directly to patriotic and honorable Democratic Party candidates that are not corrupt and/or Socialist.

So please help spread the message to everyone of our fellow Democrats. Also, don't forget to contact and request the Unions and other outside contributors to follow our lead as patriotic Americans.

Thank you, and God Bless America.

Web site: http://www.democraticreformparty.com
Blog site: http://blog.democraticreformparty.com

[MyThought]

I thought the interview was a total waste of time - can't the journalists talk about something more important?

I switched to CPAC where there was a "real" conversation about the issues of the day - it was well done.

So long CTV's QP - I can't stand to watch the BS anymore including the huge Tory blue mugs on their desk.

[Gabe]

The longer this obsession of the news media with the Official Opposition goes on, the more distracted they are from the real issues with the Government. Is this responsible journalism?

[Ozy3]

Travers is right on track. Ignatieff always was, and remains, a questionable choice as Liberal Party leader. Many Liberal supporters are confusing their support for him as support for the Party. However, how can someone who stood for beliefs that are the polar opposite to the Liberal Party's values be the latter's leader? Liberals are asking Donolo to sell a leopard as a zebra after a few strokes of paint. For heaven's sake, the Canadian public is the most educated electorate in the world - stop insulting its intelligence. Given a choice between a Neocon who openly declares his beliefs against a Neocon who's trying to pass as a Liberal, the former easily wins out. Until the Liberal leadership is honest enough to admit its mistake and pick another, uncompromised leader, the Liberals will continue to fail in the polls. Have the courage to face the truth before you ask the voting public to support your beliefs.