Fire the Good Doctor

There has been some talk in the press recently about the Liberal Party of Manitoba and their leadership situation. Apparently some people in the party are "beginning to quietly muse" about replacing Jon Gerrard as leader.(*) Excuse me while I give the Liberals a virtual slap upside the head ... Fire the Doctor already!!! It does not matter if he is a nice guy, or a smart cookie, or able to prescribe Cialis. I think he's a nice guy too, but he's not getting the job done. Period.

What some of these people don't realize is that smart doesn't win elections. Charisma does, and the good doctor has none of it. Stuart Murray (a.k.a. Mr. Invisible) also had a chronic charisma deficiency and was rightly booted from the helm of the PC party.

Now, I know that you're thinking. You're thinking "but how do you explain Stephen Harper's success? That man has the charisma of a frying pan, and not one of those nice Jamie Oliver ones either." Well, yes, but Harper had good timing -- he established himself and pulled his party together when the sponsorship scandal and general sickness of the Federal Liberals was ripe. However, his lack of charisma and the fact that women think he's creepy seriously limits his potential upside in an election.

Anyhow, as I was trying to say, unless Dr. Gerrard can prescribe himself a personality-enhancing steroid, I'm afraid the party is going nowhere under his leadership. That is the unfortunate reality. I believe that people will vote on the issues if they big are clearly defined, but Gerrard was unable to differentiate the Liberals from the NDP in this way. The most commonly heard phrase last election was "they're all the same", and when that happens, the guy with the perma-grin will win every time.

h/t PF