Surely the strategic goal of Alberta's New Democrats between now and the next provincial election must be to move the NDP from being the fourth party in the Legislature to the second one after 2016.

In other words, although an NDP government in Alberta is simply not in the cards over the medium term, the NDP could form the Opposition in 2016 if the party's Legislative caucus is dealt the right cards in the next round of the great game of political poker … and manages to play them the right way.

What if the Alberta Liberals found a leader who could generate a little excitement -- say like Dan MacLennan, the former union leader controversial in labour circles for not being a New Democrat and beloved by the media for his entertainment value and easy way with a quote?

Hey, Alberta Party! You got some 'splainin' to do!

Politics, as Carl von Clausewitz didn't exactly say, is merely a slightly more civilized version of war. Thus, among the immutable laws of politics is this one: When in doubt, shoot those whose loyalty is in question and blame your communications people.