Bob Rae and the Naked Truth

Bob Rae was out on the road this week in Southern Ontario. I followed him for a bit of his trip and will have a fuller report in tomorrow's paper.
Though I've  been covering  Rae's speeches on and off  for years now, in a couple of his political incarnations,  I'd never heard this story he told to a crowd in London this week.

It was the 1979 federal campaign and Rae was out knocking on doors on a sweltering hot day in May. He rapped on one door and a woman's voice yelled out: "Just come on in."
He went into the house and found the woman sitting, watching TV, stark naked.
She said to him: "Oh, you're Bob Rae, aren't you?"
Rae, almost dumbstruck, managed to reply that yes, that was his name.
"Oh," she said. "I thought you were the Consumers Gas guy."

He said his only thought was that maybe he'd gone into the wrong line of work.

Comments

[BarryW]

I hope that Rae's political thinking is more original than this old chestnut - that joke has been around for decades.

[bob ward]

Tell me Susan...how many times will you post this "old joke" that I have heard a 1000 times.
Its not true, it didn't happen and Bob Rae is lying to you

go figure

[Wascally Wabbit]

When you are on the campaign trail, anything can happen. A few years ago, a lady friend was working on the campaign of a former Toronto Councillor (who is now an MPP in Queens Park) in a ward in the East end of the amalgamated city. She was being accompanied by the councillor's admin. assistant (who himself is now a Toronto councillor). She knocked at one door - which was answered by a naked man. Fortunately, the admin. assistant was close by to rescue her from what was an embarassing situation.
No urban legend - she told me the story that evening - after she had finished "working those streets" - but she never thought that it would result in that situation.

[DM]

God, Rae makes me sick - and I'm a LIberal....

[tired of the Bob Rae anecdote]

it's really time for a new post.

[Gabby in QC]

"it's really time for a new post."

But ... even journalists need some time off.
Of course, some people may think that some journalists are always “off” ;-)

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/off
• in error; wrong: You are off on that point.
• slightly abnormal or not quite sane: He is a little off, but he's really harmless.
• not up to standard; not so good or satisfactory as usual; inferior or subnormal: a good play full of off moments.

Regardless … maybe Ms. Delacourt is preparing for this:
http://www.news.utoronto.ca/campus-news/canadian-journalism-fellowship-winners-announced.html

“Five experienced journalists will join the throng of new students coming to campus in September as winners of coveted Canadian Journalism Fellowships. The fellowships, based at Massey College, allow them to pursue eight months of study at U of T. …

Susan Delacourt, a senior political writer in the Toronto Star's Ottawa Bureau, is this year's St. Clair Balfour Fellow. Delacourt has covered national affairs in the capital for more than 20 years. She has written three books dealing with national politics and is a regular on CBC Newsworld's Politics broadcast.”

[R. W. 'Bob' Scott]

I’m an old retired guy who has spent his life as a salesman, computer engineer and Community
College Professor. The point of the foregoing is that I think that I developed a pretty fair ability
to judge people during my almost eighty years.

I feel that our Prime Minister displays a disturbing psychological trait by appearing everywhere
with his hair teased into a grey-hair-sprayed bouffant parody of Donald Trump. As he always
appears thus, he must have a hair stylist in his entourage who is surely being paid by someone -
you and me?

It’s not the cost that concerns me, although certainly the salary for such a parasite must be
substantial. Undoubtedly, this betrays a major character flaw in our ‟fearless leader”.I can
remember only two previous politicians who displayed such conceit and were ‟made over” --
David Peterson and Preston Manning and where are they now? Nor do I think that I would want
such a narcissist as a friend, a member of my family, a co-worker, and certainly not as my Prime
Minister.

Yes, I’m working to defeat the Right Honorable Stephen Harper in the next election, and part of
my personal efforts include contacting journalists whose writing style and column content I
admire and whom I think might sympathize with my point of view.

Thank you for your time

[Gabby in QC]

"I feel that our Prime Minister displays a disturbing psychological trait by appearing everywhere with his hair teased into a grey-hair-sprayed bouffant parody of Donald Trump."

Mr. Scott, while I respect your right to dislike the current PM for any reason whatsoever, your depiction of the PM's hair shows a total lack of knowledge regarding coiffures.
1. teased hair is backcombed to make it appear fuller. I doubt the PM's hair is long enough to undergo that form of torture.
http://www.hairboutique.com/tips/tip100066.htm
Ahem, is it possible that you are follically-challenged, ergo your hair envy?

2. "grey-hair-sprayed" Are you suggesting the grey is not real? That the PM has used a reverse form of Grecian Formula?
Surely in your eighty years you must have noticed that politicians tend to age visibly while in office, especially those who take their tenure seriously, so if the PM's hair has greyed, it is likely due to a normal process called "ageing."

However, I may have misunderstood your description.
Maybe the intended emphasis was on the "sprayed" part.

Oh my, a truly psychological deviation that, wanting to keep one's hair in place!
But ... but think back to your own youth. You must remember this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brylcreem
"Brylcreem, a little dab'll do ya,
Use more, only if you dare,
But watch out,
The gals will all pursue ya,--
They'll love to put their fingers through your hair."
C'mon, admit it Mr. Scott, you probably daubed some on your locks to impress your lady friends.
Maybe you tried to imitate Clark Gable's slicked down look: http://www.joeri.net/retro/fashion/gentstop.htm

3. "a parody of Donald Trump"!? Oh, I get it, with George W on his way out, one must find an American caricature to attack Mr. Harper with.

Mr. Scott, by all means continue working to defeat Mr. Harper, but basing such antipathy on a person's hairstyle ... well, it verges on the pathological.

[wascally Wabbit]

Hey - time to do something Susan - before this descends into fighting about which hairdressing afficionado gets the most current copy of Elle while they wait for the drier...
I well remember a former Tory campaign team making play with Jean Cretien's Bell Palsied facial droop - and it flew about as high as I fully expect this to go...
and thinking of low bridging - Harper's criticism of Cretien's quite justifiable comments about the no-show of Canada's political leader in Beijing (but wait - we were represented - Oh - Helena Guergis - no wonder the Chinese government's official English language newspaper is tearing a strip off Harper this morning...one ideologist being hoisted on the petard of the world's greatest ideological power...kind of ironic really isn't it?)

[Gabby in QC]

Mw. Wabbit,

It might be instwuctive fow you to wead this Wiki account of “the ad” you wefewenced:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_Chrétien_ad
It was mowe Libewal manipulation than anything else.

On anothew mattew, you condemn the PM’s cwiticism of Jean Chwetien, yet you comment sawcastically about one of the Consewvative weps in Beijing, Ms. Guewgis, who BTW is not alone in Beijing. Foweign Affaiws Ministew Emewson is thewe too!
I thought you cwitics of the PM wanted him to delegate mowe of his powews and duties!

Oh, also instwuctive is this awticle about Jean Chwetien’s wespect towawds the Chinese:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040206.wuchretien06/BNStory/Front/

P.S. Please allow Ms. Delacouwt to enjoy the west of the summew. You awe not the boss of hew!!!
Heh heh heh!

[Wascally Wabbit]

Well - thonderin' thockatach - Miss Gabby - and Gawd bless der wabbit's karrits - we found a Tory with a sense of humour...
As rare as a four leaf clover - and der wabbit looks for them every day!
In retort - I have two crisp orange gems for you

1) I took my name from an interview between that old Neocon comic, William Kristol, and I think it was Charlie Rose - when the dismissive Kristol, in deriding Democrats - said "those Democrats are like that Bugs Bunny - getting shot up all the time by Elmer Fudd..." - see - another conservative humourist...and

2) I'll contort Lloyd Bentsen's famous put-down of the lightest weight VP candidate ever..."Miss Gabby - I know Helena Guergis...and she is no Stephen Harper (or for that matter Jean Cretien)"..

TTFN

[Gabby in QC]

“… we found a Tory with a sense of humour … As rare as a four leaf clover”

Perhaps your exploraTORY forays into “enemy” terriTORY have been desulTORY. But thank you for the approbaTORY comment.

However, though you apparently enjoyed the joculaTORY nature of my reply, your laudaTORY comment soon reverts to a condemnaTORY tone.

IMHO, it is completely supererogaTORY to make derogaTORY remarks about Ms. Guergis. She is/was on a delegaTORY mission together with Foreign Affairs Minister Emerson at the inauguraTORY ceremony of the Beijing Games. PM Harper’s absence is/was nugaTORY.

Ms. Guergis’ presence may not have been a jubilaTORY occasion for you, but I sincerely hope GG Michaelle Jean’s presence at the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games will cause you to engage in saltaTORY activities. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkZOElPM4Ro&feature=related

[Wascally Wabbit]

Der wabbit wouldn't normally be this "gabby" - but can't resist taking one more shot...

I do indeed know Ms. Guergis - and continue to find her even more light weight than Senator Bentsen's sparring partner - VP Dan Quayle.

I do admire her ability to zig and zag though...

for example - Ms. Guergis made (smallish) headlines when a certain former Liberal former cabinet minister crossed the floor...by roundly condemning said MP for expediency.

Then, when that former cabinet minister was given a cabinet seat by PM Harper, and the position of parliamentary secretary to said minister was under consideration, one expedient MP swallowed her principles and was happy to serve said minister.

The minister - David Emerson...the parliamentary secretary - Helena Guergis...

I wonder if they talked much while in Beijing together...Hm?

[Gabby in QC]

Mr. Wabbit,

“I do indeed know Ms. Guergis …”
Congratulations! I don’t know why you must reaffirm this, though, since I don’t think I questioned the veracity of your previous statement to that effect. Oh, woe is me! I cannot make the same claim to fame. I know ABSOLUTELY no one of any consequence whatsoever … all my friends and acquaintances (of all political stripes) are plain mortals just like me.

As to Ms. Guergis’ “ability to zig and zag …” on Mr. Emerson’s floor crossing, I would remind you that Winston Churchill changed parties not once, but twice.
True, if one paraphrases Lloyd Bentsen's statement once again, Mr. Emerson may be no Churchill, but the fact remains Mr. Emerson’s “defection” has many other precedents: Belinda Stronach? Garth Turner? Scott Brison? Keith Martin? David Kilgour? Jean Lapierre? Do all those ring a bell? But here are a couple of more complete lists:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_Members_of_Parliament_who_crossed_the_floor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadian_politicians_who_have_crossed_the_floor

Finally, to your “I wonder if they talked much …”
Such innuendo does nothing but diminish your argument, and suggests contempt for women in politics. I thought progressives were the champions of ‘more women in politics.’
You’re even more “wascally” than I thought.

[Wascally Wabbit]

Dear Gabby,

Contempt for women in politics? Nope - as one who worked for Sheila Copps when the forces of paternalism tried to take the party over and rename it after the "new" leader - I think my credentials are impeccable there...

As one who was sadly unsuccessful in persuading another fine lady candidate and putative leader to run against Helena - one up - one down I suppose!

As one who has some contempt for political airheads and token representatives - guilty as charged!

And while charges are being laid - my beef was not with whether Mr. Emerson crossed the floor or not - it was - and I repeat because clearly you did not get it - with the expedience of Ms. Guergis making a condemnatory statement against Mr. Emerson to garnish a few small headlines - then conveniently forgetting it when offered the position as his parliamentary assistant...it's all in the record - look it up!

[Gabby in QC]

Mr. Wabbit,
“Contempt for women in politics? …”
OK, I’ll withdraw that assumption. Even though I’ve never been a fan of Ms. Copps, I thought she was treated very shabbily in that nomination battle against Tony Valeri.

But allow me to set a few matters straight.
You insist Ms. Guergis made “a condemnatory statement against Mr. Emerson to garnish a few small headlines.”
I believe you have the chronology of events and the people involved wrong.

1. Ms. Guergis did condemn a floor crosser, but it was not Mr. Emerson; her anger was directed at Belinda Stronach, whose floor crossing on May 17, 2005 kept the Paul Martin government alive for a few more months.
The following day, during Members’ Statements, Ms. Guergis commented:
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?pub=hansard&mee=101&parl=38&ses=1&language=E&x=1#T1410 (Wednesday, May 18, 2005)
    “Mr. Speaker, I can see many unhappy Liberal faces today as they realize they have fallen prey to the ultimate example of privileged queue jumping.
    I am sure many Liberals feel stabbed in the back by their leader after he let the member for Newmarket—Aurora slide straight into cabinet without doing the hard work so many of her new colleagues have done over the years. …”
Remember, Ms. Stronach went from a Conservative MP into a Liberal cabinet post.

2. In reaction to Ms. Stronach’s “defection,” Ms. Guergis co-sponsored with MP Joe Preston a Private Members' (Bill C-408), “An Act to amend the Parliament of Canada Act (change of political affiliation)”
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?pub=bill&doc=C-408&parl=38&ses=1&language=E
“First Session, Thirty-eighth Parliament,
53-54 Elizabeth II, 2004-2005
BILL C-408
An Act to amend the Parliament of Canada Act (change of political affiliation)
First reading, June 17, 2005
This enactment amends the Parliament of Canada Act to provide for a process that gives the electors the opportunity to decide whether they wish to continue to support a Member of Parliament who crosses the floor in order to join another party or sit as an independent.

1st Session, 38th Parliament,
53-54 Elizabeth II, 2004-2005
HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA …”

Notice the date: First reading, June 17, 2005, i.e., the Liberals were still in power.

3. The January 2006 election brings in a Conservative government. :-)
On Feb. 6, 2006, when the Harper government was sworn in, Ms. Guergis became the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for International Trade, David Emerson.
Thus, there was no causality, no connection between her June 2005 proposed bill, her appointment to Mr. Emerson’s Ministry, and the withdrawal of her 2005 private member’s bill.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060207/conservative_caucus_060207/20060207?hub=TopStories
“Helena Guergis, an Ontario MP, was reportedly set to REINTRODUCE [capital letters mine] her private member's bill requiring floor-crossing MPs to run in a by-election as a candidate for their new party -- an idea not included in the Conservatives' election platform.”

You see, she was prepared to REINTRODUCE the PMB, but because the “ ... idea [was] not included in the Conservatives' election platform” she did not do so.
I recall that prior to the Jan. 23 vote the CBC’s Peter Mansbridge asked Mr. Harper during a town hall meeting whether he favoured the introduction of such a bill, and Mr. Harper pointed out that if such a bill had become legislation half his party would have had to step down, since the New Conservative party was the result of a merger of two parties.
Neither you nor I know whether Ms. Guergis would have reintroduced the bill if the Liberals had once again become the government in Jan. 2006 :-(

You see? I took your advice. I did look it up, and you were misinformed.

4. Finally, your antipathy for Ms. Guergis is your business, but please give her credit for having some parliamentary experience, which you appear to sneer at. Here’s a list of the committees she’s served on:
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Files/Parliamentarian.aspx?Item=35c1a246-9b80-4b4b-b84e-9e4404c1421f&Language=E&Section=FederalExperience

Standing Committee on International Trade 39th Parl., 1st Session (2006.04.03-2007.09.14)
Standing Committee on the Status of Women 39th Parl., 1st Session (2006.04.03-2007.09.14)
Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration 38th Parl., 1st Session (2004.10.04-2005.11.29)
Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs
and International Trade 38th Parl., 1st Session (2004.10.04-2005.11.29)
Standing Committee on the Status of Women 38th Parl., 1st Session (2004.10.04-2005.11.29)
Subcommittee on Human Rights and
International Development of the Standing
Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade 38th Parl., 1st Session (2004.10.04-2005.11.29)
Subcommittee on International Trade,
Trade Disputes and Investment of the Standing
Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade 38th Parl., 1st Session (2004.10.04-2005.11.29)

That sets the record straight, as far as I’m concerned, and your “beef” need no longer stew in its own juices.

[Wascally Wabbit]

Sigh - citing a list of committees that ANY Tory is "supposed to sit on" is a little academic at best in these days of chairmen walking out and general filibustering by the likes of David Tilson - Gabby!

Of course, that is all the Opposition's doing - right? - according to PMO spin - nothing to do with the guidelines the Flower Pot people get issued from the PMO on how to conduct / disrupt committees.

Keeping a seat warm is about the limit of Helena's skills - usually the one behind and to the slightly above Harper's left ear in Oral Questions - as I recall (or would you like to send her to Mexico to plead for an incarcerated Canadian citizen again?).

Being notorious for reading from party line crib sheets in any meetings (and especially campaign debates) that she appears at is the way I remember her...

Oh - and musing about when the leader of the Official Opposition is going to force an election - so she can complete the plans for her wedding for the equally unforgettable Mr. Jaffer is right up there too...

Oops - there goes my contempt quotient - up again...

[Gabby in QC]

"Oops - there goes my contempt quotient - up again..."

Yup.

And there goes my expectation of a discussion based on FACTS rather than on snide personal attacks - down again ...

Flower Pot people? Has Denis Coderre been whispering in your ear? That is the choice appellation he used to refer to then Environment Minister Ambrose. A really convincing argument to attract more women candidates, eh?

I think this exchange has run its course. Go about your "wascally" ways, and I'll go tend to my flower pots.

[Wascally Wabbit]

Gabby - I WAS going to let the lady have the last word...but this is just too juicy a karrit...

Maureen Dowd said it best in her column about Miss Congeniality
http://www.thestar.com/News/USElection/article/488311

But - for me - Sarah Palin has another label -
America's Helena Guergis!

[Gabby in QC]

Mr. Wabbit, thank you for your attempt at gallantry, wanting to allow me the last word. But it was not to be!

A few points:
1. Although I find American politics interesting because what America does has world-wide repercussions, I am not obsessed with that presidential race.
In fact, I find it quite humorous that formerly anti-American Canadians have turned an amorous look down south, yearning to fawn at the feet of Mr. O.
I have no preferences. Whoever is elected president is fine by me. The presidential candidates don’t need my endorsement.

2. Ms. Dowd has a wonderful head of hair, unlike some of our own columnists unfortunately. My admiration of her auburn locks, however, does not include her POV and her methods.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/04/AR2005110401996.html
« … She skewers public figures in the most personal terms, calling Bill Clinton "the Animal House president," Al Gore "a teacher's pet from hell" and George W. Bush the "Boy Emperor."

But while Maureen Dowd would seem to have a well-developed taste for combat, appearances can be deceiving. Even after a decade of writing a New York Times column, she admits to being "very thin-skinned" about criticism. …

The most persistent criticism of Dowd's columnizing is that she's mostly sizzle and little steak, a clever wordsmith, pop-culture queen and armchair psychologist who fails to take a stand on thorny issues. She would sidle up to John Kerry and ask whether he used Botox, but not dirty her hands by inquiring about his health care policy. ...

In 2003, conservative bloggers savaged Dowd for unfairly truncating a Bush quote about al Qaeda being "not a problem anymore," when she left out a section in which Bush talked about half the group's top operatives being jailed or dead -- and thus not a problem. Dowd, who ran the full quote two weeks later, defends the editing but says she should have run a correction.»

So, it appears Ms. Dowd relishes committing character assassination, but curls up into a fetal position if she’s the target.

You can learn more about her here:
http://thegspot.typepad.com/blog/2008/04/my-maureen-dowd.html
And
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Are_Men_Necessary%3F_When_Sexes_Collide
«In the book [Are Men Necessary? When Sexes Collide], Dowd puts forth her view of the current state of feminism, whether women pursuing a mate is worthy … There are also her personal views about Hillary Clinton arguing that she destroyed feminism, betraying other women by sticking with her "dissembling, thong-seeking, wife-betraying husband," and becoming a feminist icon in the process. …

Entertainment Weekly said: "To observe Dowd at her coquettish, stiletto-wearing worst, crack her new book, Are Men Necessary?, a hodgepodge of recycled columns, Dorothy Parker quips, and peekaboo glimpses into the glam journalist's personal life."»

I’ve seen her “coquettish” behaviour in interviews with Charlie Rose, and was not impressed. That she has again used her razor-sharp vocabulary and her "stiletto" pen to carve up another person’s image is not at all surprising. Another "MoDo" job. Who cares?

3. Finally, Mr. Wabbit, your preoccupation with Ms. Guergis and people’s perception of her is a tad worrisome. It suggests a lot more about you than it does about her.

4. It is unfortunate you decided to cast aside your gallantry. See what a lengthy reply - “last word” - you’ve elicited?

[Wascally Wabbit]

Dear Gabby -

My gallantry is intact thank you - and held in reserve for those who deserve and earn it.
For example, in praise of a long time Tory woman, who long ago earned her spurs as a public administrator, at both levels of Municipal government, and as a Tory candidate - sponsor for Mike Harris in his leadership bid - and later apologist for that action when she realized what Harris was really about - and as a passionate advocate into her 80s of women's suffrage and human rights - Joyce Trimmer - who died in May, lived in Helena's riding - and was the sort of woman and Tory that I was happy to admire and call a friend....
I am merely honing up my Rove / Brady/ Flanagan / Rachel Marsden / Bill O'Reilly communications skills to demonstrate that we can give 'em as well as receive 'em - since I suspect during September and October - on both sides of the border - the mud slinging will start - and I don't intend to stand idly by while it flies...
See you on the hustings...

[Gabby in QC]

Mr. Wabbit, may I remind you that the question of your gallantry was brought up by you? Remember? You said “I WAS going to let the lady have the last word” - that is why I referred to it, in the limited context of this little exchange of ours, not to the rest of your unknown-to-me life. You really shouldn’t take things so personally.

It would have saved us both a lot of typing, though, as well as Ms. Delacourt some reading and deciding whether to approve or reject our comments, if you had originally come out clearly stating your personal grudge against Ms. Guergis, instead of wrapping it up in a series of charges to be peeled away like several onion skins.

First it was the 'fact' Ms. Guergis was a lightweight representing Canada at Beijing; then the “fact” she had accepted her Parliamentary Secretary role under false pretenses; next it was about her being an “airhead and a token representative;” that, of course, was ample 'proof' of her incompetence and inexperience; next it became about all the present Tories being the “flower pot people.” And finally, all of the criticism had to naturally culminate in some link to the dreaded Americans - the Republicans, of course, not the other guys.

But, if I understand you correctly, Ms. Guergis defeated or replaced your preferred candidate in her riding, and you’re still “pissed" - if you’ll pardon my French.

Well, life is sometimes unfair. So, most of us pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and go on with our lives, instead of becoming fixated on someone else’s merits, or lack thereof.

Go ahead, sharpen your knives and other weapons of your choice, including clumps of mud, if that’s what charges you up. Funny - I remember a former Liberal PM (JC) often citing another Liberal PM (LP): “The more you throw mud, the more you lose ground.” Wise words to live by - even if they were said by a Liberal.

[Wascally Wabbit]

No grudge...
Just the facts!
I acknowledge I misremembered one fact - who in fact Ms. Guergis referred to (jeez - why didn't I think to look up wikipedia - but since Ms. Guergis was merely a side reference to all this until you took up her cause - it did not seem to be a priority) - the fact that she was critical to the point of proposing a private members bill against any elected official that changed parties stands - the fact that she on the one hand criticzed a Conservative crossing the floor to the Liberals but swallowed her principles when offered to second chair to one who had crossed from the Liberals to the Conservatives is indisputable!
You still haven't addressed that - conveniently it seems!
And if you had read them - to refresh you again - my initial reference to Ms. Guergis was simply that she was NOT Stephen Harper - the Prime Minister - representing Canada in Beijing -
nothing whatsoever derogatory...but once you decided to open the can of worms...
They wiggled and wiggled and will no doubt wiggle some more before October 14th passes...

[Gabby in QC]

Mr. Wabbit, since you insist, allow me to revisit a few points, which I apparently did not make clear.

1. The Beijing Olympics were a great success, despite the absence of Stephen Harper. As far as I’m concerned, the Games should spotlight personal athletic achievements, not nationalistic ones. Our athletes were fine representatives, and they were seconded by Minister Emerson and Ms. Guergis. Our Mr. Big had other fish to fry.

2. Our Press Gallery would have been the first to point out that Mr. Harper’s achievements, if any, are not in the athletic domain. I can almost picture the comments “hint hint nudge nudge, look at his girth” although he’s trimmed down. But I suppose in that respect you’re right when you say Ms. Guergis was a “lightweight” in comparison ;-)

Seriously, had the PM decided to attend, the PG would also have stated that he was following Pres. Bush’s lead. And critics would probably have condemned him for being there on the taxpayer’s dime, when that money could be better spent on healthcare … you know the drill.

3. To my knowledge, only two other former PMs attended the Games. P.E. Trudeau in 1976 here in Montreal, and Jean Chretien in Atlanta in 1996. I don’t recall if PM Mulroney attended the Calgary Games in ’88.
May I also remind you that Mr. Chretien was unwilling to cut short his ski trip to attend King Hussein’s funeral? So if we’re talking shirking duties in representing Canada …

4. I believe I addressed your stated main concern, i.e. Ms. Guergis’ position on floor crossing, in my comment on August 24, 2008 at 10:39 PM, in points 1, 2, 3.
The issue was discussed at length in various blogs when it actually took place, but a definitive consensus was never reached. The salient points, IMHO:
• Ms. Stronach was an inexperienced MP who went into a cabinet post; Mr. Emerson had already been in cabinet. In other words, a move up the ladder versus a lateral move.
• Ms. Stronach’s floor crossing was to prop up a government; Mr. Emerson’s was to represent an important riding AND to conclude negotiations he had already conducted (softwood lumber).
• Ms. Guergis' involvement in the floor crossing PMB was in reaction to Ms. Stronach’s defection, which outraged the Conservatives. However, the PMB was presented BEFORE the party actually articulated a policy on floor crossing:
http://www.thehilltimes.ca/html/index.php?display=story&full_path=/2005/august/15/crossing/&c=1
“Mr. Preston said he was not aware of Mr. Stoffer's bill [C-251] when he prepared his bill [C-408] with the help of fellow Conservative MP Helena Guergis (Simcoe-Grey, Ont.) but said he had spoken with him recently about the two bills.

Conservative MP and critic for democratic renewal Scott Reid told The Hill Times his party does not currently have a policy on crossing the floor.“ [Aug. 15, 2005]

• You may wish to believe Ms. Guergis changed her position on floor crossing because of personal gains; I believe she changed her mind once she became aware of what her party leader thought about floor crossing (viz. what I posted previously):
“... prior to the Jan. 23 vote the CBC’s Peter Mansbridge asked Mr. Harper during a town hall meeting whether he favoured the introduction of such a bill, and Mr. Harper pointed out that if such a bill had become legislation half his party would have had to step down, since the New Conservative party was the result of a merger of two parties.”
Consequently, Ms. Guergis abandoned her plan to reintroduce the PMB on floor crossing.

• Finally, I will not deny it - I'm definitely partisan. I support the Conservatives. However, I don't know ANY politician personally; I have never even met one, except one running as municipal councillor who knocked on my door.
I believe your statements regarding Ms. Guergis were unfair and based on wrong information. That is why I rose to her defense.
You are free to have your own opinion on Ms. Guergis and her motivation, but don't expect conservatives like me to remain silent. Why do you think I chose "Gabby" as my moniker?

[Gabby in QC]

My apologies.
My point # 4 "The issue was discussed at length in various blogs when it actually took place, but a definitive consensus was never reached" should have made clear what "the issue" was: the floor crossing of Ms. Stronach compared to that of Mr. Emerson.

[Wascally Wabbit]

And finally - seems David Emerson - like me - has also seen enough of Messrs. Harper and Geurgis....
Globe and Mail reports today that he will not run again...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080902.wemerson03/BNStory/National/home

[Wascally Wabbit]

Shame - they kick Susan's blog downstairs...couldn't keep it where it was for the next 36 days?
Well - enjoy the sabbatical / six months away on the journalism scholarship...

[Doug C]

To Mr. Harper : To what extent is your agenda for Canada being dictated by the Right Wing Religious Crazies to whom you owe a great debt for their support in getting you where you are ?
Why should we fight the Taliban in Afganistan and then vote in the Right Wing Religious Crazies' version of the same thing here ?