Excerpts from press commentary
At the microphone stood a diminutive figure whose bushy beard and prominent forehead conveyed a striking likeness to one of his Fabian predecessors, George Bernard Shaw. Herschel Hardin, philosopher, author, playwright, broadcaster and polemicist, is the NDP leadership contest’s Don Quixote, tilting at all the party’s sacred presumptions. … One of the first contradictions to merge is that the candidate with freshest ideas – Mr. Hardin – also has the least chance of gaining party support. … Were Tommy Douglas, the founder of the NDP, still alive…[Mr. Hardin would] have his support.”
- Hugh Winsor, Globe and Mail
A breath of fresh air blew into last week’s meeting in Guelph of the four NDP leadership hopefuls. I refer to Vancouver author Herschel Hardin. .… He’s bright, articulate and, most of all, he thinks big picture. .... It was Herschel Hardin who gave people intellectual fodder to take home and chew on.
- Eric Johnson, Guelph Tribune
Impishly witty. .... The evening’s winner? Hardin.
-Glenn Wheeler, Now Magazine
The ultimate outsider.
- Dale Eisler, Regina Leader Post
Hardin proved to be a scrappy intellectual, brimming with ideas and strategies for the future….stacked against the other well-groomed candidates, with their Pepsodent smiles, well-rehearsed hand gestures and polished delivery, Hardin was oddly compelling. … Next to him, the other candidates seemed vague and, well, clueless.
- Richard Mostyn, The Yukon News
The most provocative. .... bilingual and articulate, refreshing. .... His wake-up call to New Democrats needs to be heard.
- Peter O’Neil, Vancouver Sun
Herschel Hardin...has been winning plaudits for articulating, with wit and in both official languages, a platform of catchy economic and cultural policies.
- Paul Gessell, Ottawa Citizen
Impressing people with his fresh thinking on the economy.
- James Laxer, Toronto Star
Hardin the only true radical in NDP race.
- Alan Twigg, Vancouver Province
If New Democrats want a traditional political party leader, then Herschel Hardin is not the person for the job. In fact, the Vancouver author suggests, if party members want a conventional leader, they should select one of his three opponents.
- Linda Richardson, Sault Star
The rhetorical emphasis among the three high-profile candidates on “core” NDP values meant that the dark horse in the race, west coast economic guru Herschel Hardin, was the only one to generate heat in last night’s question and answer session with Island New Democrats.
- Doug Beazley, Charlottetown Guardian
The Noam Chomsky of Canada....his ideas carry a big stick.
- Robert Mason Lee, Globe and Mail
It is a measure of the malaise gripping the New Democratic Party that the man with the newest ideas for reviving Canada’s struggling democratic left won’t even be on the final ballot.
- Frances Russell, Winnipeg Free Press
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