As a parliamentarian, as a man, a father, a grandfather, I call on the government's leadership to really get a grip on its members and set a higher standard.

Peggy Nash, who was briefly the MP for the Toronto riding of Parkdale-High Park, ousting high-profile Liberal Sam Bulte in the 2006 election before losing in 2008 to Liberal Gerard Kennedy, has been elected as the new president of the federal New Democratic Party. Nash succeeds Alberta Anne McGrath, who is currently serving as NDP Leader Jack Layton's chief of staff. Nash was elected at the NDP's convention this weekend in Halifax.

In 2005, Jack Layton won $4.6 billion in new investments in housing and transit in exchange for supporting the minority government of Paul Martin. In 2009, Michael Ignatieff got a working group and an opposition day for supporting the minority government of Stephen Harper.

Layton: "if the Liberals are counting on the NDP in some way, I think they should just look at our record over the last 71 confidence motions and they'll get an idea of where we're coming from. "

Here's an interesting item from The Washington Times, notable not only because we have a Canadian politician trying to lend a hand to the world's most popular politician but also, I think, because the Times' correspondent here seems to be working under the impression that the U.S. Democrats are close cousins of Canada's "New Democrats." Canadian readers, of course, will know that the U.S. Democratic Party is probably somewhere between the Canadian Conservative and Liberal parties . . .

You could buy a card and let Hallmark say it for you or if you're a political junkie, you could let a politician voice your affection for mom. As I'm a political junkie, here's NDP Leader Jack Layton:

"We knew this in advance and this is a short-term phenomenon," Lavigne told me. "We are on pace to pay off our debt -- a small debt fro the election and we are healthy enough to run an election campaign at any given moment."

The numbers looked soft, Lavigne said, because the federal party stayed on the sidelines for most of the quarter in some of its most important regions of the country.

Missed this from yesterday, but NDP Leader Jack Layton announced a slight tweak to his shadow cabinet lineup, a tweak that was forced upon him by the departure of Dawn Black. Black quit as an MP to run for the NDP in BC.

"...the insurgency is composed of a whole series of different components and elements. I mean this is a society that some have described as almost clan-based. It's very mountainous. There's these little communities of interest and focus. Each of them has their own political structure and dynamic and if you can begin to separate some of these organizations and groups and leaders from those that are on the most extreme end, then you can begin to weaken the insurgency through diplomacy, through negotiation. That's what we've always meant by a comprehensive approach to the pursuit of peace in Afghanistan ..."

... is Jack Layton. So says the new radio spots the New Democratic Party plans to begin airing today. One spot argues that everyday families were "counting on Michael Ignatieff" to stand up to Stephen Harper but "he failed" in his first test as Liberal Leader. Now, "Jack Layton's the only leader strong enough to stand up to Harper and get us through this economic crisis," a female announcer says.