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There are quite a few big, black birds floating around these days. Or had you noticed? |___ _ No, they are not black geese on their way south. They are vultures. They may not look like it. They may more closely resemble political pundits, media manipulators, or triumâ€" phant Tories. But they are vultures. r'l“heg; are scrawny and hungfy as they circle impatiently, waiting for the moribund body to fall down and become a carcass on which they can fatten. o _ That s&aggering c;)rpus on which their beady little eyes are fixed is the Liberal Party, which composes the governâ€" ment of this fair land at the moment. â€" o _A Gallup or some other poll revealed recently that the Liâ€" berals would receive only 29 per cent of the vote, should an election be held when the poll was taken. o Add to that the increasingly virulent tone of the media toward the prime minister, and a gaggle of. fairly~minor scandals involving prominent Liberals, and it would appear that the vultures will soon be gorging themselves. â€"i'h;r; 'c;x:t‘:;ifnily is a faint stench arising from the Liberal party these days. But it is not the stench of death. It is more e B â€" Waterloo Chronicle, Wednesday, October 20, 1976 THERE‘S MENSWEAR.. * oUTERWEAR 20% off ~â€"24 Bill Smiley sUITS % to 50% off ALL MEN‘S ALL Raggas for #Hen AND THEN THERE‘S... like the odour of a body that needs both a strong purgative and a good, hot bath. â€" s _ 2. o nmbirhatiett ~idiadcst a sibbiindretint 1 don‘t pretent to be a political seer. Nor do I owe any political prognostications to any political affiliation. In short, I don‘t give a diddle for any of them. . o But it doesn‘t require more than a modicum of common sense to realize that the Liberal party is far from being on its last legs. Anyone who thinks otherwise is indulging in wishful fantasies or a form of selfâ€"hypnosis. That includes the political vultures. I think they are going to go right on being scrawny andhungry. _~ _ â€" m L Why?"lojs‘«'eâ€";o-l;; he;a_;wn or lady. Forgetvalfout the polls and the press. Nobody ever won an elect_ion with either, or _ Remember, you read it here first. The Liberals may have absorbed a few stiff punches in the solar plexus, but they are a long way from going to the mat and being g,ounted out. both. People, not polls, elect governments. And people are the most unpredictable creatures in the universe. They gon‘t base their votes on logic or reason. They base them on all kinds of crazy things. fiey base them on emotions like greed and fear. They Waterloo Square, Waterioo Political visions base them on glibness and charisma. They base them on such things as Margaret making an ass of herself on TV or Mauâ€" reen having a hard time with her first baby. In these days, when the tube is so vital in a politician‘s getting to the people, the latter base their votes, in many, many cases, on dazzle rather than dependability, on rhetoric rather than reliability. A pity ‘tis. ‘Tis pity but ‘tis true. When the crunch comes, who are you going to vote for? Earnest, youthful Joe, with his jowls jumping like a junior John Dief.? Or suave, elegant Pierre of the Gallic shrug, the seemingly utterly reasonable approach, and the charm of a professional actor? Be honest, Add again. Trudeau is a skilled and experienced politiâ€" cian, He has shown that he can be at the same time loyal to his henchmen and ruthless when need be. Clark is comâ€" paratively untried in the political arena, is rapidly gaining skill, but hasn‘t had a chance to be either loyal or ruthless. He hasn‘t dared. Add to that a few other facts. Trudeau has the solid supâ€" port of his party, if only because he has led it to two sucâ€" cessful grabs at the gold ring. Clark was elected leader of the Tories by barely more than one half of the convention delegates. Add some more. The government controls the purse strings. This means patronage and post offices and pension chedues. And don‘t tell me that‘s nineteenth century poliâ€" tics. It ain‘t. Look for some sudden benevolence by the govâ€" emment on the eve of election. . And again, Don‘t count too much on the prime minister‘s current unpopularity. Mackenzie King was one of the most cordially hated prime ministers we have ever had. He sudâ€" denly became_very â€" popular and won an election, when he introduced the baby bonus. See last paragraph. * Another fact. There arge millions of dieâ€"hard Liberals in this country. They‘d vote Liberal if King Kong or Ibi Amin (not much to choose there) were running for prime minisâ€" ter. What do you think they will do in an election? Roll over and play dead? Add to this that Quebec, despite its disillusion with its own Liberal government, will go at least ninety per cent Liberal. They may not love Trudeau, but when it comes to a choice between a guy named Pierre and a guy named Joe, there is no choice, among French Canadians. . Trudeau will get a licking in the West, but that is not where elections are won or lost. â€" While it may be on the ropes, cut and bleeding, the Liâ€" beral party is a long, long way from being carried out of the ring, feet first. e Here‘s my prediction. Pierre Trudeau will eat Joe Clark for breakfast. If he doesn‘t, I‘ll eat three copies of the High River Times for my breakfast. Dr. Diana Johnson, psyâ€" chiatrist and chief of proâ€" gramming of the Children‘s Psychiatric Research Inâ€" stitute, London, â€" Ontario will speak Oct. 27 at 8 p.m. at the. Waterloo Public Liâ€" brary auditorium. She will Psychiatrist will speak Raggas for #Â¥len Date: THkaroday. Oct,. Zlet : Fene: 5:00 pon ZYace: "mails ZEnd HNetel _ ) (} anlo YLm,Qch{;S ‘Y‘f(nl“f_\ 70e cordially {uvile gou to cour new fall and winter ANT LU and The talk will be sponsorâ€" ed by the Kitchener â€" Waterâ€" loo Association for Children with Learning Disabilities. offer good, sound advice for children‘s learning and emotional problems. Hank Hou