ON THE ROCKS
He shows up for his first national press conference in blue jeans and a black sports jacket.
And we're talking here ratty blue jeans at that, not some designer conceit.
He's not a teen-ager. He's the leader of a national political party, just elected.
His name is Thomas Mulcair.
Where Bob Rae, former NDP politician, is now the interim, erstwhile, almost Liberal leader, Mulcair, former Quebec Liberal, is now the leader of the NDP.
Are you following all of this?
To make matters worse, he's what the writers of Seinfeld would call a "quiet talker."
Quiet talking, like a host of other devices, is not a nervous tic that visits its hosts unwillingly. It is a sick, sucking passive-aggressive control strategy, designed to bring everyone in proximity to his or her knees.
The quiet talker is a closet Ninja warrior who sees the whole world as a threat. He is always en guard.
Volcanic temper, ego, refusal to work with others - these are the highlights of this fellow's rap sheet.
Why am I not surprised that Ed Broadbent tore strips off the guy last week?
So the NDP are tired of playing maiden-in-waiting. They want the whole schmeer.
Fair enough.
But be careful what you wish for.
This man is toxic.
If you think Stephen Harper is trouble - and I don't, by the way - you ain't seen nothing yet.
Mulcair is an intellectual snob, superior to me and thee in every way.
May he never be Prime Minister or anything even remotely close.
