Um.. right.

Good for a chuckle. In the National Post, on page A5:

"Jean Lapierre, Dion’s former Cabinet colleague, was hardly glowing in his endorsement. “A few months ago we asked, ‘Why is Dion running, he is not a real politician.’ He’s surprised us all. We’ll have a better answer [about his appeal in Quebec] when people have had time to think.”

But Lapierre hit on something that could prove to be Dion’s saving grace.

“We were not defeated on our policies [at the last election] but on our integrity, and integrity, like virginity, is hard to get back,” he said."

Nice point of comparison, Mr. Lapierre!

[Edit]: Actually, I wanted to comment on how frank and unwilling to defer to oversensitivity politicians are when they're not in front of a mic. My experience has certainly shown this. Talking to a former bureaucrat about how I didn't speak Chinese fluently because I was only learning English in school, he said, "well, you can shit and piss at the same time, can't you?". On the recognition of the nation debate, another politician mentioned that not recognizing Quebec was like a "man who fucks a woman but never says I love you." Mulroney was well known for his 'off-the-record' statements. I suppose it comes from having to be so politically-correct all the time in the public sphere - you've got to let it out somewhere.