The story of Benoit Corbeil's stiff sentence is not likely to make Michael Ignatieff and his team happy. With some Chrétien-era hands fiddling with Team Iggy, this current incarnation of the Liberal Party is not free and clear of the sponsorship saga. In some ways it is a case of what is old is new again.
While there are many criticisms that can be levelled at Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and strangely readers of this blog often point them out, there is no compelling argument of self-interested pocket-lining malfeasance that can be levelled against the Harper government. That is an asset for the Prime Minister.
As Michael Ignatieff still has yet to tell a compelling tale about what makes him and this version of the Liberal Party appealing to the Canadian electorate, he will remain haunted over the holiday by what others did and what he has not done. Anyone looking for stocking stuffers that reflect this theme might want to pick up the January-February edition of The Walrus magazine (yes I read it from time to time). The cover story is the "Lost Leader - Why Michael Ignatieff hasn't knocked our socks off" by Ron Graham. Maybe it's just me, but Iggy's caricature on the cover bears a striking resemblance to Ebenezer Scrooge (teasing... well, sort of).