Thursday, March 27, 2008
Dion: What The Media Pundits Have Failed To Recognize
I haven't had much to say lately that hasn't been better said elsewhere. If you're reading this, you may think "You still don't. Shut up!"
From National Newswatch, I caught the headlines of two interesting opinions regarding the plight of Stephane Dion.
The first is from L Ian MacDonald:
The party is broke in Quebec. There's no plan for a campaign. The infighting among organizers is ugly, like Tories in the bad old days. And the Liberals are completely out of the game in the 50 Quebec seats outside Montreal.
The second is from Don Martin:
Mr. Dion's new more asser tive-looking glasses hardly overcome an ivory tower tan and passive demeanor, which create the impression of someone who, like me, was the favourite wedgie target for elementary school bullies.
As one party insider noted hopefully when asked for image advice: "Mr. Dion is a great fly fisher, so maybe we could do more photo-ops in a boat?"
Um, Stockwell Day on a jet ski ring any bells?
The truth is far more foreboding for Mr. Dion. It's one of those things that probably aren't recognizable from ninety eight percent of the electorate: only intelligent people are capable of recognizing intelligence in others.
If you think about the above sentence, you'll arrive at the conlusion that both Stephen Harper and Stephane Dion are at a level of intelligence that most people simply can't recognize. Sure, you could easily spot a person with an IQ of 80 after a brief discussion if you were to meet them on the street. What if you had met Bill Gates or Thomas Edison on the street?
Both Stephane Dion and Stephen Harper are men that have that level of intelligence. The unfortunate aspect of genius is that it can either be a genius for everything, or it can be a genius in certain categories. Until Stephane Dion can develop a genius for political strategy, he is doomed to remain where he belongs.
Cowboy vests and goofy glasses won't be the deciding factor in an election. Public perception of the man behind them will be.
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5 comments:
I agree with you except on one point, Dion is no genius. He's in way over his head both politically and intellectually. Artsy courses at university are laughable, they are the courses you take to increase your grade point average.
politically and intellectually?
I've never actually witnessed a combination of the two with the exception of Stephen Harper and Pierre Trudeau. I don't have any doubts about Dion's intellect; the point of my post is that in spite of his intellect, he lacks the political genius required to obtain the job. I must add that even though I believe his genius lies elsewhere, he can still learn that which he needs to know to succeed as getting elected Prime Minister (not the same thing as performing in the job, mind you). Also, as crazy as it sounds, sometimes leaders are elected merely because the voter thinks it's the cool thing to do. I've just witnessed it here on PE during our last election!
Dion does not really seem to be very intelligent.
Where is this supposed evidence of his genius ?
If Stéphane Dion is a genius, he is quite ingenius at hiding it.
In that sense, Joe Clark was a genius as well.
Dion certainly is a genius, especially when it comes to intergovernmental affairs. Read any of his articles that he wrote as an academic, and tell me I am wrong. But his political instincts are abysmal.
Just like being a fast runner does not make you a good baseball player, being a genius does not make you a good politician.
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