24-hour party people

Michael Ignatieff's troubles of the past week (will he run again if he loses the leadership? Won't he?) got me thinking again about why I'm not a party person.

Let's face it, Iggy didn't really say anything all that terrible, did he? Why would he want to look forward to four years in opposition instead of a tenured job?

The whole thing reminded me of my brief experience as a volunteer in the most recent Nova Scotia election. I was down at my local candidate's campaign office to make some calls (never again!) and got into a conversation with one of her organizers. I said we lived in an interesting riding, and began to sing the praises of our local MP (who belongs to a different party). Sure, I said, I'd rather that he be defeated because I'm not crazy about his party, but on the whole he's a good guy, and a solid local MP who cares about his constituents.

Judging by the silent stone-faced look that greeted me, this was clearly not the right thing to say. My party right or wrong, etc.