Reading the coverage about Ian Davey's departure I am struck by the sameness of it; it was all HIS fault. He was to blame for all of the Liberals' problems. Now that we have changed HIM, dumped HIM, good times for the Liberal Party are certain to be here again.
You can easily take the stories, replace the name "Ian Davey" with "Stéphane Dion," "the board," "Paul Martin" or "Jean Chrétien" and be transported back in time when Liberals were last convinced that by changing one man (or in the case of the "board," a group of men), everything will change. Thank God almighty, our saviour is here!
But you know what they say, those who repeat history are almost certain to get completely different results. That's how that chestnut goes, right?
The notion that everything that has gone wrong in the last 12 months was all Ian's fault is ludicrous. A total cop-out.
I know Ian a little bit and I don't think there was anyone more committed to the renewal of the Liberal Party and bringing new, smart people into politics than he was. He is also as decent a guy as there is working in politics. Straight up, honest - decent.
He deserves far better than what unnamed Liberals are dishing out today.
This is in no way to take away from what Peter Donolo brings to Michael Igantieff's office. Peter is a professional. He knows communications and as I wrote earlier this week, that is an area the party has been woefully weak in over the last three years.
But Peter is not the Messiah. If the problem wasn't just one guy, the notion that one guy can turn the entire ship around is equally silly. Liberals who think that we are just one guy away - even if that guy happens to be hugely talented - have an extraordinary naïve view of where the party is at. They are also setting themselves up for disappointment if yet again, the promised savior turns out to be something less.