I'm at a loss to understand what the NDP really represents these days, whatever leader it might choose. Once seen as the party of ordinary working Canadians, it's now pretty much a semi-leftish and uber politically correct copy of the Lib party. Its silent stance on the Khadr settlement baffled many. Of course, the party's elite probably agree with the Libs on the settlement, but rank and file NDP supporters oppose it by an almost two-to-one margin. And the party's recent embrace of ultra-environmentalism puts it at odds with the interests of an enormous number of ordinary workers in this country whose jobs are linked to resource extraction. So, what is the role of the modern NDP? I can't figure it out. Its leadership contest seems to be the least of its problems going forward.