"But man appoints, and God disappoints."

"'Hark you, goodman Slander', replied Sancho, 'it is now eight or ten days since I began to govern the island that was given me, and in all that time, I never had my belly full but once; physicians have persecuted me, enemies have trampled over me, and bruised my bones, and I have had neither leisure to take bribes, nor to receive my just dues. Now, all this considered, in my opinion I did not deserve to come out in this fashion. But man appoints, and God disappoints. Heaven knows what is best for us all. We must take time as it comes, and our lot as it falls. Let no man say, I will drink no more of this water. Many count their chickens before they are hatched, and where they expect bacon meet with broken bones. Heaven knows my mind, and I say no more though I might.' "

And so, as unofficial (you mean 'interim', surely, ed) becomes more official, others, in addition to Quixotique, question the fact that it didn't have to be this way. We could have simply followed "all the constitutional procedures of the party" and let the membership exercise their constitutional authority to legitimize, ratify - okay call a spade a spade - appoint the Leader. And instead we disappoint and leave ILMI to take his lot as it falls.

At the same time, the crafty old dragon-slayer himself, PMSH, polishes his rusty old regimen of governing-by-taunt, knowing that the interim supply measures will be voted on before ILMI's official transition from unofficial to official. Some call for ILMI to call PMSH's bluff. And while this is going on, yet others, including Liberals, are questioning ILMI's policy-pronouncements mere weeks away from a convention that might just, or might just not, ratify those as well.

Well, well, well, isn't timing everything? If ILMI and the party apparatchik were really that serious about having legitimate and authorized opportunities to call bluffs, ameliorate parliamentary legislation, legitimize new policy directions and perhaps even defeat the government and head in to an election with some measure of party-wide backing - without using the upcoming convention as some sort of imaginary deadline for the launch of the "New Ignatieff Party", they would let the DEMs go ahead including the universal membership vote. Instead, members in 30 ridings (less than 10%) across the country will get their say, while the rest of us delegate our opinions and decisions to "delegates" we have not had a chance to delegate anything to, let alone our say on Leadership. After all, it's only one week away, almost two months before the Convention, leaving more than enough time for the receiving of just dues.