Comments on: What does the most successful Premier in Ontario’s history…

By: trashee

trashee — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 12:18:44 +0000

You know I disagree with you on Rae, but we’ve been over that.
I have met both McGuintys as well – they are, after all, my MP and MPP. And they are very engaging and committed to the folks in Ottawa South. David is an amazing speaker and very passionate about what he does. He was at our community associations’s AGM last week and you can just feel the energy. I think he’d make a great leader of the LPC.

By: Evolving Squid

Evolving Squid — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 12:05:40 +0000

I’m certain he is a nice guy. As a life unit, I’d conjecture he’s an interesting conversationalist with a wealth of life experience. I think that deep down, most politicians are probably semi-reasonable people, although that line of work attracts more than a few sewer-dwelling trolls too.

Being a nice person doesn’t mean he did a good job running the province.

I always thought Bob Rae was smart. I just think he ruined the province.

Bob Rae had lots of ideas. Bob Rae got to act on those ideas, and they didn’t work out so well. Rather than fix it, he decided to make it worse with other ideas. It was the old “when you’re in a hole and trying to get out, stop digging”.

I still think David McGuinty has way more on the ball than Dalton, but I admit to not having any evidence for that, although I have met them both.

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 13:15:09 +0000

I don’t think Dalton is going to run for the liberal party and I don’t think he ducked out because the going got tough. This was so sudden and so contrary to what he’s been all about. I think there’s something going on in his personal life and he needs to attend to that. I think he’s a genuinely nice guy, too and he did a pretty good job given what he inherited and the climate in which he had to work. But then I liked Bob Rae, too.

By: Evolving Squid

Evolving Squid — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 02:42:23 +0000

I’ll grant you this as well… He’d make a good competitor for Trudeau. I don’t like how everyone is blowing sunshine up the arse of JT, and JT really needs a serious competitor for the federal leadership in order to get the issues out and show poeple a bit of what he’s got.

Bob Rae would be a non-starter. Bob Rae leading the Libs means not winning a seat in Ontario. David McGuinty would be a better choice, I think. David always seemed smart. Dalton has always seemed like he was dropped on his head and was trading on his father’s name for a career.

Dalton would make a terrible PM, but I think he’s the competition that Trudeau needs so we can see if Trudeau would make a passable PM.

By: Evolving Squid

Evolving Squid — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 02:35:59 +0000

You have a pretty low bar for success if McGuinty is the most successful in history.

Under McGuinty rule, Ontario has begun receiving transfer payments, has the worst relationship with labour in history (no mean feat after Bob Rae), declining services, poorer education with higher tuitions, higher taxes and is generally in worse shape than pre-McGuinty by any measure.

He prorogued parliament to avoid scandal… you know, that thing everyone gets on Harper for, and then ducked out of the way so when the Liberals grace us with the privilege of their sitting again, McGuinty won’t actually have to answer for his choices.

He’s got to be in the top 5 for the worst premieres in history by record, although I’ll grant that he pales in comparison to Bob Rae in most areas.

On what basis would you decide that McGuinty was even a passably good premiere, let alone the best?