Years ago, the Globe and Mail seem to take on a large number of columnists, likely to compete with The National Post. Over time, many of those columnists dropped off the paper. One who did not was Leah McLaren.
I have a love/hate relationship with her column. I read it every week, even when it is annoying. Perhaps it is her (professional?) self-obsession. Whatever.
Speaking of that, her latest column in globeandmail.com: At the end of the day, you are what you say. Totally
is one I found very funny. A nice, condensed summary of the banal cliches we use during the week and on the weekend.
Hmmm….banal….cliches….it makes sense now.
Smart People I Know 
Leah McLaren’s weekly column is a waste of space, empty of content and full of drivel, usually offensive; it takes away space that should be better devoted to a million other things. Put it in the recycling bin before reading it, your brain cells will thank you — better yet, G&M should start a collection plate to stop printing it (it’s blackmail, but hey) and donate the proceeds to curing cancer AND solving world poverty in one go. Enough of us would contribute that I think it would be feasible.
I know heaping that much scorn on a useless columnist is bizarre — one might think it’s a sign that she’s onto something, since she elicits strong reactions from so many people. Sort of like George W Bush.
I know alot of people who feel this way about LmL. What am I saying: I have yet to hear people say they like reading her.
Bad as she is, Margaret Wente irritates me much more than Leah. I actually avoid even reading the heading of MW’s columns, they are that annoying. Leah is annoying in a whiny way (to me), rather than in a “haurumph!” way that Wente is.