ESP, Fuhrers, and a Naked John Baird. . . .

I can predict the future. I am no psychic, just of a practical turn of mind, politically speaking.

I predict that Justin Trudeau will be elected leader of the Liberal Party! Yes, I know, pretty bold of me eh? But wait, there's more. I also predict that after his elected leader the Conservative Party will launch a series of attacks on him.

Ok, ok, so I won't get any interesting odds on my prediction from a bookie. Everyone in the country who is not currently in a coma probably shares this prosaic prediction.

But here is where the predictions will get interesting, as well as the odds. The real question that is on everyone's minds is what happens next. What kind of attack with the Conservatives mount and how will people react. Presumably the Conservative attack dogs have something more up their sleeves than digging up a couple of old Trudeau quotes about Albertans running the country.

"But what could it be?" we all wonder. Will they attack Trudeau for who is father was? Probably a bad bet. Will they attack his good-looks, or suave demeanour? Inexperience?

Who knows. But we can be sure that they will find something to go after.

But then the question becomes how will people react. I thought that the Conservative attacks of Dion would backfire. And they did to a small degree. But Dion was an awkward, milquetoast of a guy and let's face it he was a rather easy target. The attacks on Ignatieff showed no backlash but then there was something slightly sinister and troubling about the Professor and the public never really took to him.

The game has changed since the last round of Conservative attacks. For one thing they have never had to go after a young, suave, good-looking, well-liked Liberal leader. They have not have to attack a leader while they in a majority position. And let's face it a minority gives a government the excellent excuse of a potential impending election to attack the opposition. But most importantly, the Conservatives have now become an embattled government, one that is now a story of corruption as much (if not considerably more) as the one they replaced. Personal attacks by the Conservatives on a young, well-liked, well-spoken guy like Trudeau whose policies seem at this point to be not, in fact, very different from the Conservatives themselves, could be a very dangerous prospect.

We can be sure that they will attack, they can't help it, it is in their DNA. And as it becomes evident that they are in some political struggle, they will only get more desperate and dangerous to themselves. Oh man, I wish I really was psychic but I guess I will have to just watch it unfold with the rest of the mortals. But if I HAD to make a prediction, I see a shirtless John Baird swinging from the chandeliers in the House, Flaherty mumbling to himself, while the fuhrer himself goose-steps up and down the aisle doing his best Charlie Chaplin imitation from "The Great Dictator."