The Secret Formula?

The simple answer to the last "anonymous" question, why did Tim Jones lose the last election is that he didn't win enough votes.

I am not much given to post-mortems on election victories or defeats. What is, is. There can be as many reasons as there are voters or grains of sand or hairs on the head. There is no going back.

I left Council-in Committee lickety-split last Tuesday. World history was being made to the south of us . I intended to watch it .

I was in Scotland when Bob Rae was elected in Ontario and again when Tony Blair was elected in the U.K. They were times of high drama..

A friend sent me the Toronto Dailies when Rae became Premier. I was here and on the Police Services Board, when he legislated Rae days to help with the economic crisis and avoid cutting jobs in the public service. Sid Ryan, leader of the public service union brought about his defeat. It was probably then he realised the New Democrats are not a real political party. I think Stephen Lewis realised it when his father David was betrayed.Ed Broadbent was a bitter man after the 1989 election despite the fact he brought the seats in Parliament to an all-time high,

When Tony Blair was elected Prime Minister in the U.K. I was asked what I thought of him. All I knew was that he was young and not cut from the same cloth as other Labour Party leaders. I remember saying that if he accomplished what he promised, he would be a great leader.

In the first years he made good progress. Then, incredibly, he followed President George Bush into Iraq and was eventually forced from office in repudiation.

I watched Barack Obama making his way. I supported Hilary. I respected her hard work, intelligence and raw courage. No candidate could be more aware how brutal the task. She made the right preparations and looked like she would surmount the insurmountable. That too would have been a historic event. She contributed substantially to Obama's victory.

When Barack Obama mimicked the cadence and quaver of the voice of the late Martyr Martin Luther King ;when he strode down a platform ,microphone in hand and told the emotional crowd he had talked to Jesus. my blood ran cold. He clearly intended reaching into people's hearts.Did he have so little to offer he had to borrow elsewhere?

I never saw that blood-chilling exercise repeated. Catastrophic events unfolded in his favour. His performance was awesome. His rival's, by contrast was as ignominious as Obama's was almost flawless.

So now, he is President-Elect. Throughout the world, people have taken heart and found hope. Can this man with so little experience make the difference? If goodwill has currency, yes he can.

Inexperience may be his greatest asset. It means doing things because you don't know any reason why you shouldn't.

Now the restraints begin and inevitable realisation of why he can't. In the meantime, in the flush of success , triumph of optimism and wise counsel he may well accomplish great things.

We wish him safe passage. We shall hold our breath.