The reviews are in

Norman Spector (!):

Perusing reports of Janine Krieber’s anti-Ignatieff missile, er missive, this morning, I notice a discrepancy in the English- and French-language coverage.

In La Presse, we read that Stéphane Dion’s wife may be thinking about joining the NDP — a point that Chantal Hébert also makes on her L'actualité blog . In English, there’s no mention of what would be a rather startling development should it come to pass.
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The more likely explanation for the discrepancy in the coverage is the longstanding tendency of the media to give short shrift to the NDP — a tendency that is less and less evident in Québec.
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Let’s be frank: Whether you agree with them or not, the NDP has been consistent in its opposition to the Afghanistan war — even after the 9/11 attacks, when it was not easy to take this position. And it was also noticeable, last week, that the NDP was the first party in Ottawa to call for a public hearing into Mr. Colvin’s allegations — a bandwagon that the other opposition parties quickly jumped on to.

One of the NDP spokespersons, Paul Dewar, radiates sincerity on the issue — as opposed to the faux outrage one normally sees on our television screens coming from Ottawa. And, in Jack Harris, the Dippers appear to have an MP who can match Bob Rae in competence.

So let’s give credit where credit is due. And, with the NDP riding high in the polls and even outscoring the Liberals in the Hochelaga by-election, isn’t it also time for the media to take the party more seriously and give them a bit more coverage?

Real reason to smile

There's understandably been plenty of discussion about Janine Krieber's Facebook post. But it's worth highlighting what sets Krieber's message apart from most of the Libs' recent internal disputes - as instead of using her concerns to try to change the balance of power within the Libs themselves, Krieber is one of far too few to recognize that progressive Canadians already have a better option:

I am looking around me, and certain things are attractive. Like a dedicated party that doesn't challenge its leader at every hiccup in the polls. A party where the rule would be the principle of pleasure, and not assassination. A party where work ethic and competence would be respected and where smiles would be real.

Maybe I'm not dreaming.

Of course, Krieber has already been pressured into removing her initial post - which serves as about the most compelling rebuttal available for those looking to spin it as a sign of Lib willingness to tolerate dissent. And we'll have to see whether Krieber or anybody else around her ends up following through on the obvious implications of her message.

But at the very least, Krieber has given every Lib who disagreed with Michael Ignatieff's conclusion that Stephen Harper deserved to be left in power at the start of this year some reason to question whether there's a better alternative available than trying to turn the Libs into something they're not. And the more individual members start thinking about that possibility, the better the chances that Krieber's optimistic vision of a united effort to reverse Harper's direction through a party unencumbered by the Libs' and Ignatieff's baggage will ultimately come to pass.