Turning the clock back in Ontario

David Peterson, who was the last Liberal premier of Ontario before Dalton McGuinty, has a few things to say to Bob Rae:

Former Ontario premier David Peterson warned Wednesday that erstwhile NDP rival Bob Rae won't be welcome in the federal Liberal leadership race.

Rae would be a divisive force in a Liberal leadership race, said Peterson, who was driven from politics by his stunning 1990 election loss to Rae.

"It's a dilemma for a tremendous number of people in the party," Peterson told The Canadian Press.

"Here's a guy, a lot of people went to war with him and now he wants to lead the army without even enlisting."

With names like Rae and Peterson being bandied around, it feels like 1990 all over again.

But it's not personal:

Peterson insisted he doesn't hold any personal grudge against Rae but is simply being realistic about the reception he'll get from Liberal militants who've given blood for the party through good and bad times.

"It's so obvious. Everybody's talking about it . . . It's a helluva high hill to climb."

Party politics "is tribal and it's primordial and it's based on trust and affection and shared experiences," Peterson observed.

"Some people would say you just can't pick the cherries off the top."

Oddly, unlike the NDP and the Conservatives, you don't need to have the same kind of "pedigree" to become a mover and shaker in the Liberal party. You could have permanent spiritual halitosis, but show that you have a chance to lead them back to power and they'd still welcome you in. In most walks of life, this would be a drawback, but in politics it's a huge advantage. We don't nickname the Grits as "the Natural Governing Party" for nothing.