Almost Over for Michael Ignatieff

The problem: he’s an intellectual and not a street fighter. He’s an Aristocat not the attack dog they need to go after Stephen Harper.

Ignatieff has been there for a year now, and nothing much has changed. He disappeared for the summer, made a few threats about an election in the fall, and then backed away covered in ridicule. Moral: Don’t make threats you can’t back up.

Pierre Trudeau also came in as an intellectual, but he learned politics quickly, and became the best -- and the meanest -- we ever had.

Denis Coderre, despite his arrogance, was right about Ignatieff.

Liberal MPs have taken to meeting privately in little groups to talk about what to do with Ignatieff. Some want to help, some want to dump.

The last EKOS poll was a hard blow to Stephen Harper. He dropped from 40 % to 35 % in one month. Bye-bye majority.

But neither was the EKOS poll good news for Ignatieff. Harper’s lost support did not go to him. It went to the NDP, the Bloc, the Greens, anybody – even to the Man in the Moon – except to Ignatieff who remains mired around 25 %. That’s not even minority government.

The Liberals are going to spend Christmas doing some serious thinking. Some dream of Justin Trudeau (38 years old on Dec. 25) as the Messiah, but he’s still three to five years away from ready.

Meanwhile the Liberals are doing all they can for Ignatieff. Ralph Goodale, their house leader prepares Question Period queries. Ignatieff reads out his questions very eloquently.

The rising star is Bob Rae, the Liberals’ best man in Question Period.

During the Afghan torture scandal, he ripped apart Defence Minister Peter MacKay, and shot holes in the government’s mistruths. He was like a surgeon slicing away at a patient anesthetised on a table before him.

The latest Liberal plan is to impose Bob Rae as deputy leader on Ignatieff. The post does not exist right now because Ignatieff doesn’t want someone around who could turn on him.

It remains to be seen if Rae keeps on playing loyal foot soldier propping up Ignatieff, or gives in to pressure to do to Ignatieff what Ignatieff did to Stéphane Dion a year ago.

Politics can be oh, so cruel.