Iffy to Liberals: "Sorry guys, my bad"

Liberal Leader Ignatieff has fessed up to his caucus, and says the blame for yesterday's bungling in the House belongs to him.

It was not a good day for the party yesterday and for that Mr. Ignatieff said he was sorry. He told his caucus, according to sources, that he can do better as he apologized for the embarrassment caused after Liberals voted against their own motion on the Harper government’s maternal health initiative.

David Akin also posted on today's caucus meeting, with his title quoting a Liberal MP... "We look like fools"

And so the Liberals ended up with some tremendous egg on their face. Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff seemed to concede as much after emerging from the weekly closed-door meeting with his caucus. "I would have preferred a different result," he wryly observed.

Privately, Liberal MPs said that the 90-minute caucus meeting was not a happy place with MPs directing their frustration at Ignatieff, his staff, and party whip Rodger Cuzner. It would have been Cuzner's job to make sure all of his MPs knew it was a whipped vote and to make sure they were all in their seats and ready to vote "Aye". Ignatieff would not say what punishment would be in store for the Liberal MPs who did not vote the way they were supposed to, saying only that Cuzner would decide on that.

"We look like fools," one Liberal MP said privately.

Just got a leak that the title of the apology speech he gave to his caucus was, "We can do better".

UPDATE: You've GOT to give Don Martin's lastest article a read... "A leader who can't enforce a vote in a minority Parliament with the backing of both opposition partners cannot be taken seriously as someone who will deliver a Liberal vision seven years down the road when, at the rate his performance is deteriorating, he'll be a former Liberal leader."