Sooner or later things reconcile. Often it is after those holding the two sides of the unhappiness are dead. Is Bouchard trying to prod the matter along sooner than that?

...Lucien Bouchard has steadfastly avoided public comment on his once-cherished cause. On Tuesday evening, however, he decided he had bit his tongue long enough. In remarks that dominated the province's political news yesterday, Mr. Bouchard told a Quebec City audience that he does not expect to see a winning referendum in his lifetime. And he assailed the Parti Québécois' obsession with protecting the Quebec identity from outside forces, saying the party has broken with the welcoming spirit of its founder, René Lévesque...I think of René Lévesque," he told reporters. "René Lévesque was a man of generosity. He didn't ask such questions. He was not afraid to see immigrants arriving.

The thing I remember about Lévesque is that people liked him. His mid-80s funeral was shown on national CBC live and we all watched it, talking about how he was a great guy whose politics we disagreed with. In the era of Mulroney and Trudeau he was one of the more likable figures around - like Broadbent in that way. So is Bouchard right? I think he is. But is he right because of the man or the times? Does our approach now to political cause place ideology too far ahead of the people with the ideas and those they are supposed to benefit?