Paul Martin was a “goon”: Jean Chretien

• Chretien portrays his rival as indecisive, disloyal, and of questionable judgment.

[…which is why he made him Finance Minister.  Check!  Thanks Jean!  Thanks for everything!]

• “I was hurt by (Martin’s) betrayal,” he writes. “I was damned if I was going to let myself be shoved out the door by a gang of self-serving goons.”

[That whole “Libranos” thing wasn’t far off then, was it Jean? By the way, how many of your guys are in jail now? I’m just saying.]

• Chretien also writes that the sponsorship scandal was blown out of proportion.

[Joel raises right eyebrow so high it reaches approximately the moon] … He notes that there were a few rogues who were found guilty, but none was a Liberal. [None was a Liberal??? Joel raises left eyebrow to approximately Pluto] … He also mocks his successor’s decision to call a public inquiry into the matter, saying the issue “would have soon faded into oblivion if Paul Martin hadn’t reacted like “an elephant panicking at the sight of a mouse.” […Damn that Martin.  Had the issue faded, all those criminals wouldn’t have been caught.  And hey: I thought that elephant/mouse reaction was in the Liberal Party how-to guidebook.  Actually I think the wording is “Run away at the sight of a fact, a Christian, an American, a terrorists, or any straight guy”.]