28 September 2006

Iggy is the biggie

As I wrote previously, if Bob Rae is elected federal Liberal Leader, Stephen Harper will be dancing on his desk.

Confirmation of this comes in an assessment inked by Conservative national campaign chief Doug Finley, that was subsequently leaked to the Toronto Star.
Addressed to the CPG, or Campaign Planning Group, the memo assesses the Liberal leadership race from a Conservative campaign perspective to determine "which leadership candidate would be most formidible."
So what's their take on Rae?
Rae has "real problems" with potential Liberal-to-Conservative switchers, 35 and over. People think he's a "nice guy" but always come back to his record as Ontario premier.
It seems the Conservatives have Iggy on their minds.
Finley, a key Tory war-room strategist in the last federal election, says Ignatieff "worries me most." However, a hand-written margin note by an unknown person adds: "Puts his foot in his mouth too much. Will be problematic (for Ignatieff)."
What do the Libs themselves think?
"Ignatieff represents the greater potential but also the greater risk," said one Liberal strategist.
SIDENOTE: Paul Wells thinks CPG leak is disinformation
There's a really good book about Canadian politics coming out this Halloween, and one of the points it will make is that when Doug Finley writes something down, his goal is to have it leaked. When he actually means something, he does it on the phone or face to face.

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