So, why did Michael Ignatieff return? I posed the question here on Saturday, and offered up my thoughts on what motivated him to jump back into Canadian politics:
I even tweeted him, not directly because he isn't yet following canukgord on twitter. Turns out I needn't have bothered, a New York Times article had come out one day earlier:
It seems my speculation was not far off the mark. I'd figured it was a desire to contribute and make a difference, something Monsieur Ignatieff has a long history of in his many endeavours. One aspect I'd missed though was his perspective on being a foreigner living in the United States. Given that I grew up in that country I can certainly empathize. I was born in Canada but spent 9 of my first 12 years growing up in New York, New Jersey and Oregon.
My family, we were always "The Canadians", similar to our neighbours but forever somewhat removed. Integrated with school, sports and church but at the same time never completely a part of the communities in which we lived. I can understand why the Liberal leader referred to the U.S. as his country when making his comments on American political issues. I lived the same experience, wanting to be fully a part of the place where I lived.
I'm not surprised the Harper Regime tries to exploit remarks such as these. When it comes to the politics of anything goes, our Prime Minister and his team set the bar as low as humanly possible.
The article is a good read, but I wish a Canadian publication had put a reporter on it instead of the NYT. But in the final analysis its the message that matters, not the nationality of the medium.
Oh and Michael, you still haven't added me on twitter yet. Jack Layton and Elizabeth May both follow my tweets, Harper does too, et même le chef de Bloc Gilles Duceppe. Pourquoi pas vous Michel?
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