Maybe he truly believes that. Or maybe he just figures he needs to say that to have any chance of ever becoming leader of the Liberal Party.
I strongly suspect the latter is the case, meaning Ignatieff is simply putting politics ahead of principle.
And that puts him in stark contrast to U.S. Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman, who has stuck to his guns consistently and courageously.
In a recent speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition (That must be the world's smallest group) Lieberman, declared:
The fact is, a loss to Al Qaeda and Iran in Iraq would be devastating to our security. These are fateful days and critical decisions we are making about Iraq. We must make them with our eye on the safety of Americas next generation, not the outcome of Americas next election.
It is to the everlasting credit of President Bush that in the war against Islamist extremism he has shown the courage and \steadfastness to stand against the political passions of the moment. I have never hesitated to express disagreement with the President on any issue when I felt he was wrong - and I have criticized his administration many times for the serious mistakes I believe it made in prosecuting the war in Iraq.
But let me tell you this: I believe that each of us should be grateful that we have a commander-in-chief who does not believe that decisions about war should be driven by poll numbers. And each of us should be grateful that we have a commander-in-chief who does not confuse what is popular with what is right for our security as a nation. The public opinion polls may not reflect this today, but I believe history will tomorrow.
You may not agree with Lieberman on this issue, but you have to give him credit: he doesn't dilute his beliefs to curry favour.
Politicians like that are as rare as goals in a soccer game.
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