Happy Early 63rd Birthday, Mr. Ignatieff!

To save anyone from making the same mistake I did, He's 64th! does not refer to his age. Michael Ignatieff is 62 and will turn 63 next May 12. I repeat, to make perfectly clear, Michael Ignatieff is 62 and soon to turn 63. He is not yet 64. One wouldn't want there to be any misunderstanding about just how old he is. I have had to exert great restraint to not get distracted by minor party squabbles - it is always irritating when the best, brightest & most idealistic in the LPC are slandered, particularly by other supposed Liberals. Reading a couple of corresponding accounts of the conduct of certain supposed Toronto Liberal elites makes me want to defend the party's honour: such conduct is so clearly ilLiberal as to be impossible. To keep the positive united tone necessary in this time of grave inquiry into the most crucial matters of state, I'd invite all Liberals to join me in encouraging Michael Ignatieff by wishing him an early 63rd birthday. Happy Early 63rd Birthday, Mr. Ignatieff!

Remember, Jean Chrétien, who was considered too old, became PM when he was 59, only four years younger. Of course, he had the advantage of having been an MP for 26 years, and in charge of National Revenue; Indian Affairs & Northern Development; Treasury Board; Industry, Trade & Commerce; Finance; Justice; Constitutional Negotiations; Social Development; Energy, Mines & Resources; External Affairs & Deputy PM; as well as not only having participated in all the greatest political debates in the previous four decades, most especially in his greatest role and achievement, often forgotten, quarterbacking the NO win in the 1980 referendum, which was accomplished despite bad early polls and a poor performance by the PLQ leadership, and against some of the best & brightest of QC society, and in which Chrétien was also notable for his devastating speeches, which cut to the quick of the matter, "ils veulent l'flag sur l'hood du cadillac".

As I say, if M. Chrétien could turn his age and governing experience to his advantage in the 1993 election, as a safe, experienced pair of hands, who can doubt that Mr. Ignatieff can do likewise? If Chrétien could get elected at 59, with all his experience becoming an advantage, who would claim that Ignatieff will not get elected at 63 or 64 or whenever, when we compare his CV to Chrétien's? So again, in the interests of clarity - Ignatieff is not 64, only 62, about to turn 63. And so, to conclude on a positive note, yet again, I wish Mr. Ignatieff a happy early 63rd birthday!