March 21, 2006
An endorsement from Mercer means something is going right.
Found it rather funny that after my complaints about Harper's tarnished image he starts to polish it back up. The recent Afghanistan trip was quite the feat, not only for a Canadian PM, but for any world leader. Imagine Bush, Blair, or Howard going right up to the soldiers at their own respective front lines in this war against fundamentalist Islamist fascism ("War on Terror" is painfully inapt) and personally shaking their hands: it just isn't something that many powerful world leaders do.
Ahhhhhhhhh, it feels really good to be able to mention a Canadian PM anywhere near the same breath as "powerful world leader" again. Harper's legacy may very well rest on what he accomplishes outside of Canada. Thanks to years of self-serving and narrow-minded geopolitical thinking brought forward by Liberal PM's since the Trudeaupian Age, Canada's international influence has become just a wee bit flimsy as of late. Emulating the indecisive, bungling, flip-flopping lead of now-failed leaders like Chirac, Schroeder, and Berlusconni, our recent Liberal autarchs have given Canada a sort of "used car salesman" image in international affairs that probably has Lester Pearson spinning cartwheels in his grave. Harper's commitment to no-nonsense, straight-forward, and up-front diplomatic relations will once again permit the Canadian position to be fully known and, more importantly, respected and understood during the summit conference barbeque circuit. At least by ending the beaten-to-death practice of defining the Canadian experience in direct opposition to the American one, our government can finally focus on presenting us as what we are, rather than by what we (allegedly) are not. Hell, let the NDP, Liberals, and Bloc gripe over and tamper with most of the domestic agenda, like hungry (and desperate) dogs fighting over some electoral table scraps, if Harper can stay clearly focused on the bigger picture, and his broader vision, he likely won't have to seek approval from the opposition just to fart the next time around.
Visiting Afghanistan was definitely a good thing for all of us, because it will at least bring some publicity to the mission and what exactly it is all about. People are quick to forget stuff in the post 9-11 world, but it is still very difficult for any anti-war activist out there to rationalize leaving the Taliban to their own devices. Plus, it makes the Tories as a whole look good and takes some of that heat away from the whole Emerson-appointee-thingy. Even the usually quite anti-Tory Rick Mercer sees the merit in what was accomplished by Harper's trip, as evidenced from his TV show's (22 minutes minus the talented actors ...sorry Rick, but Walsh and Thomey had you beat by far...) recent rant. And, just as Mercer (rather correctly) pointed out, Harper still needs to work on the consistency of his image if he ever wants to shake those "old lady with 9 cats" analogies. Hopefully these are just the last bumps in the road. Let the Liberals and NDP handle the tarnishing of their own images through their petty bickering and political sabotage, if Harper can just hone that focused, professional, well-read, and influential "leader image" abroad, Canadians just might give him the chance to actually run the show here at home as well.
Ahhhhhhhhh, it feels really good to be able to mention a Canadian PM anywhere near the same breath as "powerful world leader" again. Harper's legacy may very well rest on what he accomplishes outside of Canada. Thanks to years of self-serving and narrow-minded geopolitical thinking brought forward by Liberal PM's since the Trudeaupian Age, Canada's international influence has become just a wee bit flimsy as of late. Emulating the indecisive, bungling, flip-flopping lead of now-failed leaders like Chirac, Schroeder, and Berlusconni, our recent Liberal autarchs have given Canada a sort of "used car salesman" image in international affairs that probably has Lester Pearson spinning cartwheels in his grave. Harper's commitment to no-nonsense, straight-forward, and up-front diplomatic relations will once again permit the Canadian position to be fully known and, more importantly, respected and understood during the summit conference barbeque circuit. At least by ending the beaten-to-death practice of defining the Canadian experience in direct opposition to the American one, our government can finally focus on presenting us as what we are, rather than by what we (allegedly) are not. Hell, let the NDP, Liberals, and Bloc gripe over and tamper with most of the domestic agenda, like hungry (and desperate) dogs fighting over some electoral table scraps, if Harper can stay clearly focused on the bigger picture, and his broader vision, he likely won't have to seek approval from the opposition just to fart the next time around.
Visiting Afghanistan was definitely a good thing for all of us, because it will at least bring some publicity to the mission and what exactly it is all about. People are quick to forget stuff in the post 9-11 world, but it is still very difficult for any anti-war activist out there to rationalize leaving the Taliban to their own devices. Plus, it makes the Tories as a whole look good and takes some of that heat away from the whole Emerson-appointee-thingy. Even the usually quite anti-Tory Rick Mercer sees the merit in what was accomplished by Harper's trip, as evidenced from his TV show's (22 minutes minus the talented actors ...sorry Rick, but Walsh and Thomey had you beat by far...) recent rant. And, just as Mercer (rather correctly) pointed out, Harper still needs to work on the consistency of his image if he ever wants to shake those "old lady with 9 cats" analogies. Hopefully these are just the last bumps in the road. Let the Liberals and NDP handle the tarnishing of their own images through their petty bickering and political sabotage, if Harper can just hone that focused, professional, well-read, and influential "leader image" abroad, Canadians just might give him the chance to actually run the show here at home as well.
