Harper rewrites the history he accuses rivals of revising.
Via Maclean's Aaron Wherry, CP's Joan Bryden dug up this 2004 smoking-gun interview snippet on Harper's justification then for trying to form a government despite placing second in seats - the spectre he now warns of:
A reporter asked whether Canadians might not "get the impression that you're trying to run the government here even though you've lost the election."
Harper responded: "It is the Parliament that's supposed to run the country, not just the largest party and the single leader of that party. I guess that's a criticism that I've had and that we've had and that most Canadians have had for a long, long time." [Emphasis added.]
Is he just not that smart or does he have really dense researchers?
Posted by: johnnyk | 03/30/2011 at 12:42 PM
Hat tip to David, Aaron Wherry and Joan Bryden - for digging this one up. fodder for the next wave of Attack Ads from the Opposition - I'm sure!
Posted by: Wascally Wabbit | 03/30/2011 at 12:46 PM
"Is he just not that smart or does he have really dense researchers?"
He probably just thinks he won't get caught. It's a common human failing. It's also the reason his plans to increase jail time won't reduce crime.
Posted by: Darwin O'Connor | 03/30/2011 at 12:53 PM
This is one of those times that I applaud "Gotcha" journalism!
Posted by: Boff | 03/31/2011 at 09:24 AM
Darwin is so right, the evidence worldwide is "tougher" sentencing guidelines, and making incarceration the penalty for ever more minor offenses, just creates an ever larger "criminalized" population. Which we taxpayers have to care for the rest of their lives, and forsake the chance to redeem so they can contribute.
Thanks, boff, but "gotcha" journalism has never been my thing. Of course this particular useful catch is the work of others, I commend them for the research.
What I thrive on is a good example - the baseball pitcher said to be "putting on a clinic out there" because he's showing us how to be unhittable. The underbelly of things, that's not why I got into this trade. Still, one has to do it sometimes.
Johnnyk, I think the answer is that the CPC researchers - and is fault is widely evident in parties everywhere - believe what they want to. Darwin's right the leader and those around him or her think they'll get away with - which is damned odd, considering the fishbowl they know they operate in. But it is indeed human nature, as with errant spouses.
Posted by: dolive | 04/01/2011 at 11:32 PM