Go Kennedy!

I've joined the Kennedy blogroll. I could lie and say in the last 3 days, since having a post up saying how Kennedy keeps getting shafted by the media, I've suddenly decided to support the team. The truth is I've been supporting Kennedy for a fair bit of time now.

So why do I support Kennedy? Well obviously I think he'd be the best leader for the party.

-He's one of the younger ones: if we happen to lose, I want my leader to be able to stick around to fight the next one. Also, we're in a world of younger politicians. Harper, McGuinty, Lord, even Charest are all still fairly young. Martin looked old last campaign, and that didn't help him.

-He's been successful in politics: Sure, he didn't win the Ontario leadership back in 1996, but he came close, and then went on to be successful with the guy he lost to. He's had a good track record in politics, and with his time in Ontario, knows what the HOC can be like

-He's the only one without significant baggage: Rae led Ontario in a depression, Iggy's lived out of the country for a while, Dryden can't speak french. Even a guy like Dion, who personally comes with very little baggage as well, could probably be roped into sponsorship. Ask anyone what the only real negatives about Kennedy are and at most you'll find stuff he is improving upon and practising (french, provincial outlook) or the fact that he's 3 credits shy of graduating university.

-He does have good ideas: For some reason, everyone keeps knocking him for a lack of ideas. But so far in the campaign, I think he's about the only candidate who has actually put out policies. Is he the most knowledgeable on foreign affairs or the environment? No, probably not. But he still knows enough about them to be able to put out thoughtful policies and be able to debate them.

-Mostly of all, he's likable, he's electable, and he's a politician. If Rae hadn't been leader of the NDP during a recession, he'd be a great candidate. If Iggy had been a cabinet minister for a few years, he'd be a much better candidate. If Brison had been in the party for a few more years, he'd be a good candidate. But they each have their little flaws. Not major ones, and I do think that we have 5-6 people who would make for good leaders, but I also believe that Kennedy has enough of the good, and little enough of the bad to be able to be a very good leader, and as the leadership campaign goes forward, I think he'll be the best leader for the party when we head into an election next spring.