By Vaughn Palmer, Vancouver Sun, 17 Nov 2010
Word out of the B.C. Liberal cabinet meeting in Vancouver this morning was that Energy Minister Bill Bennett had been asked to leave because of his emperor-has-no-clothes comments that the premier should go sooner rather than later.
Bennett agreed to go and, given the principle of cabinet solidarity, neither they nor he had much choice.
But he'll probably end up looking better on this one than his cabinet colleagues.
For one thing, he's not alone among Liberals in thinking that the premier should expedite his departure.
It may be their only -- albeit dwindling -- hope for a fresh start.
For another, there seems to be an inverse relationship between one's political popularity in this province and one's proximity to Gordon Campbell.
The further removed from Campbell, the more popular with the public.
By week's end, Bennett will likely find himself on the short list of public choices for the next leader of the party.
Not that the Liberals are willing to face up to the reality that their leader is becoming political poison.
The way things are headed, this is in danger of becoming not so much a cabinet as a suicide pact.
