Ignatieff did a number on himself

A few years ago, in my golden youth, I was at a Campus Conservative convention listening to a certain expert on political campaigns discussing negative ads. The thrust of is presentation was that negative ads work, and they work best when they are true. If you doubt this you only have to look at what happened with Stephane Dion. If he had shown any leadership ability the Conservatives calling him not a leader would have fallen flat.

This is not what happened with Michael Ignatieff.

Sure it looks very similar. A new leader of the opposition is bombarded with attack ads that make an impression in the public mind. There is an air of truth to the ads, enough so that Mr. Ignatieff has demonstrated a lack of ability to effectively respond. Jane Taber at the Globe & Mail writes that Mr. Ignatieff claims that they ‘did a number’ on him.

But this is not his real problem.

His real problem has nothing to do with the Conservatives and has everything to do with his own lack of vision. He seems unable to present a clear message of what an Ignatieff led Canada would look like. John Ivison from the National Post puts it well:

The one thing that Liberals at all levels of the party agree on, is that Mr. Ignatieff has to offer more specifics on how he is different from Mr. Harper and what a Liberal government would offer Canadians. “Embarrassing the government is what the Libs are all about. Offering alternatives in the form of good governing is non-existent,” said one life-long grass-roots Liberal.

“Ignatieff hasn’t unveiled any substance yet and until he does, he can’t move anywhere. As such, Harper is the only game in town,” said one senior insider. “Saying that what the government is doing is bad won’t change anyone’s vote.”

Everyone (at least everyone on the Liberal side) hoped that after Michael Ignatieff’s ‘thinking conference’ he would come out with a fresh vision and a new message. Yet since then things have only become more confused. All the dire issues that were talked about at that conference, and the Liberal Party has yet to offer any solutions. Why would anyone support a party that doesn’t have an idea of how to fix problems that the party itself says are the most crucial?

No Michael, no one did a number on you. You did it to yourself.