An unlikely source, I know, but he sounds incredibly relaxed talking to old friend Michael Enright on The Sunday Edition. I like what he has to say about feeding the beast of the 24-hour news cycle as opposed to ‘laying track.’

In order to ‘lay track’ as Ignatieff calls it, you really have to take control of the conversation. Bridging techniques don’t have to be subtle – they can be as blatant as saying, ‘Interesting question. But what I really need to talk to you and your viewers about is free trade/national security/our failing civic infrastructure.’ And then you just start talking about free trade/national security/our failing civic infrastructure. And hopefully some of what you say will be interesting enough to prompt a follow-up question. At which point you’ll be in charge of the interview you’re giving.