Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 28, 2008, Winnipeg, Manitoba C m y k Page a15 Winnipeg free press thursday August 28, 2008 View from the West and beyond comment editor Gerald flood 697 7269 Gerald. Flood free press. M. Ca Winnipeg repress. Com a 15 d Enver Ive been to a lot of conventions and theress always something Gratifying by weird that happens. Dan Quayle acting like a dancing Hamster. Teresa Heinz Kerry reprising Blanche Dubois. Dick Morris getting nabbed triangulating Between a Hooker and toes. But this democratic convention has a vibe so weird and jittery so at Odds with the Early thrilling fairy dust feel of the Obama revolution that i had to consult with Mike Murphy the Peppery Republican strategist and former Mccain guru. What is that feeling in the air i asked him. Submerged hate he promptly replied. There were a lot of bitter Clinton associates fundraisers and supporters wandering the Halls spewing vindictiveness complaining of slights scheming about Hillary is Roll Call and plotting trouble with some in the Clinton coterie dissing Obama by planning Early departures before the nominee even Speaks. At a press conference with new York reporters on monday Hillary looked As if she were straining at the bit to announce her 2012 exploratory committee. Remember 18 million people voted for me 18 million people give or take voted for Barack she said while making a Faux pro Obama Point. She keeps acting As if her delegates Are out of her control when Sheds been privately egging people on to keep her dream alive As Long As possible and no matter what the Cost to Obama. Hillary also said she was Happy about the Choice of Joe Biden because he added intensity to the ticket. Ouch. She added insult to injury by coming out tuesday night looking great in a blazing Orange pantsuit and teaching the precocious Pup Obama something about intensity and message. She thanked her sisterhood of the travelling pantsuits and slyly noted that Obama would enact her health care plan rather than his. She offered the electrifying fight that the Limpid Obama has not setting off paranoia among some democrats that they had chosen the wrong nominee or that Obama had chosen the wrong running mate. It makes perfect sense that George Bush and John Mccain will be together in the twin cities because these Days they Are awfully hard to Tell apart she said. Afterwards some of her supporters began crying As they were interviewed by reporters saying that her speech had proved that she would make a better president than Obama. And As one said she would Only give him two months to prove himself. De Rendell the governor of Pennsylvania compared Obama with the passive aggressive Adlai Stevenson and told the Washington Post that Obama gives six minute answers and is not exactly the easiest Guy in the world to identify with. At a meeting of the democratic a omens caucus tuesday 74 year old Carol Anderson of Vancouver wash., a former Hillary Volunteer stood in the Back of the room in a Hillary t shirt and hat signed by Hillary and Obama Button and booed every time any of the women speakers mentioned of amass name. Sheds voting for Mccain and had nothing Nice to say about the Obama. What about the kids i asked. Adorable she agreed. Well i said Michelle raised them. I think her Mother does Anderson shot Back adding i wonder if Michelle would give the Queen one of her Little knuckle punches Bills pals said he was still gnawing at his Many grievances against the younger version of himself he has to Praise wednesday night the latest one being that the Obama folks like All winners wanted control Over Bills speech so that he did not give a paean to himself and his economic record which is what he wanted to do because he was incensed that Obama said a couple of critical things about his administration during a heated Campaign. Finally Obama had to give in on monday and say he would allow the sex president to do exactly As he likes which is what he usually does anyhow. Of amass pacification of Bill made his supporters depressed and anxious that he was going to be a weaker candidate than they had hoped and fearful that As in of amass Favourite movie the godfather every time democrats try to get away the Clinton pull them Back in. And democrats have begun internalizing the criticisms of Hillary and John Mccain about of amass Rock Star prowess worrying that the in Vesco Field extravaganza tonight with Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi will just add to the celebrity cachet that democrats have somehow been shamed into seeing As a negative. So that added to the weird mood at the convention with some democrats nitpicking of amass appearance after Michel less Knock out speech and the fabulously cute girls with a reassuring White family in a town he remember at one Point. They wondered Why he a snot wearing a tie fearing he looked too Young and second guessed Michel less Green dress wondering if it clashed with the Blue stage and fretted that there a snot a speaker attacking Mccain and Yelling about Gas prices. Ism telling you Man said one top Democrat its something about our party the Shettl mentality. Maureen Dowd is a columnist for the new York times. Maureen Dowd High anxiety for democrats in mile High City s of it seems that the country will have a Federal election in the fall that nobody wants to choose a prime minister that few will like. Its a contest brewing Between the stiff Guy with the funny hair and the nerdy looking Guy with the glasses and the Charisma problem. I cant remember a time when Canadian politics seemed More Dull. For a Brief shining moment in the Spring the Maxime Bernier affair livened Ottawa up a bit but As scandals go it was a tempest in a Teapot. It was never going to bring the government Down and now it is almost forgotten. Stephane Dion has spent the summer criss crossing the country Selling his Carbon tax Green plan but coming into the autumn few remember its details How it differs from the tories Green plans and whether it will really Cut Canadian Energy use. From an election perspective what is More important is that according to opinion polls the Economy has replaced the environment As the no. 1 Issue in Canadian minds. In Manitoba where the Economy still seems quite Fine thank you even that Issue seems less than gripping. Perhaps we Are All still lulled by the very pleasant warm summer we Are experiencing. Perhaps we Are mesmerized by the exciting politics emerging in the United states. Perhaps it is simply because parliament Isnit sitting but it really is hard to feel either that the country needs an election or that if it has one lives will be markedly better or even different than they were before. It is As if in political terms we Are All marking time that we Are in a Calm before a storm and that All of a sudden As in the United states an event will happen or a Man or woman will emerge that will alter the Tenor of the times. It is As if also the Liberal Era never ended. Sure we threw the liberals out and replaced them with a conservative minority government. But what changed we threw the liberals out because they had lost our Trust. It was not so much that the sponsorship scandal was so terrible. Political parties have been using government Money to bolster their reputations for years. It was the Brazen Lack of accountability and the sense that the liberals had been corrupted by their years in Power that got them Defeated. The sponsorship scandal provided the excuse and prime minister Paul Martin proved an admirable fall Guy. He had his own government investigated and appeared to dither while he did it. Stephen Harper had the advantage of being the other Guy. But More than two and a half years into the tories Rule prime minister Harper is still the stiff Guy whom canadians have not yet Learned to Trust. Canadians feared when they last went to the polls that or. Harper had a hidden far right Agenda that would permanently alter Canadian values. Its because those fears still remain that it is unlikely that the tories can win a majority. In fact the tories a vent really done much. They ave pretty Well reversed themselves on climate change. Their position on Afghanistan is different in emphasis to the liberals but its hard to look at Ottawa and see that the place is really different from what it was under Martin or Jean Chretien. Its just not As interesting. Its the Small things that the Harper government does that Hurt it cutting arts funding to groups showing Canadian culture overseas not showing up to the Beijing olympics Petty stuff that make the tories look mean spirited. It would be come Back liberals All is forgiven were it not for their Leader. If Dion has become More impressive in the 20 months he has held office its not obvious. His tortured English does not help him. Chretien is English was tortured too but it became almost an asset an aspect of his Little Guy from Shawinigan a shucks style. Dionys tortured English in contrast is part of a coldness that builds a Wall Between him and his audience. He has no natural Affinity for crowds nor any of the natural instincts of the likable politician. The upshot is that we have leaders of two parties who fail to inspire a government that has barely stepped out of the Shadow of its predecessor and an opposition that cant find an Issue to sell to the Public. If there is going to be an election then it will be because Harper believes that his fortunes May decline and it is better to go to the country sooner rather than later. Dion must surely think by now that he has avoided an election for Long enough and that to continue to prop up the minority tories will cause his image More and More damage. Hers right but really does anyone care Nicholas Hirst is ceo of Winnipeg based television and film producer original pictures inc. Fall election to hum Nicholas Hirst o Ottawa after deciding the House of commons was too unstable to recall and cancelling a leaders Summit due to scheduling difficulties prime minister Stephen harpers Only justification for his Sabre rattling Rush to an election has become a dysfunctional parliament. Well Hogwash. Sure the atmosphere has been poisoned by maps so sick of each other they ave retreated inside their own part yes cocoon refusing to play Nice with outsiders. But As or. Harper himself noted Only nine months ago this minority parliament works Damn Well. Any objective analysis of its accomplishments would conclude this government has outperformed that Hiccup of a Paul Martin reign or any of the three sleepy Jean Chretien majorities. To suggest the governments Agenda was excessively stymied or shortened ignores the wide Swath of change this government has delivered to canadians. Consider just the thumbnails of the Impact delivered by the Harper conservatives usually in tandem with reluctant liberals taxes have been reduced across the Board the get Cut by two cents for shoppers income splitting granted to seniors and a Dandy tax free savings plan for everyone. Those who earn a living using tools or the parents of sports minded children get special tax Breaks for their equipment. Criminals who buy sell or use guns for violent crime will be hit with tougher mandatory prison sentences. A new age of sexual consent is in place so fathers like me can warn boyfriends to keep their paws off our daughters until they re 16, but preferably a lot longer. Idiots who race fast cars Down residential streets could end up parked in jail without their vehicles. Those who drive High on drugs can now have bodily fluids extracted for testing to secure impaired convictions. Immigration policy has been refocused on applicants the Economy needs not those who would Likely land in welfare lineups. Hundreds of lost canadians denied their rightful status have had their citizenship restored. Consumers have guaranteed improved food Labelling although thatus no Comfort to listeria poisoning victims and Canada led the world in Banning Bis phenol a products like baby bottles after the chemical was found to be a hormonal disrupter. The government has put a Candle in the Canadian military is decade of darkness although credit for funding boosts should be shared with the Paul Martin government. We Fly Globe masters just like the americans now and have new helicopters tanks and armoured vehicles coming soon to bolster a Mission in Kandahar that was extended by maps until 2011. Our increasingly important Arctic coastline is being reasserted under the Maple Leafs control with stepped up patrols aggressive mapping and wider jurisdictional claims while kept under the sky Eye of an advanced satellite the government blocked from falling into american hands. Those scotch swirling stroke sessions Between Cabinet ministers and lobbyists seeking political favours Are allegedly a thing of the past thanks to a paper Trail of All Contact although accidental meetings have been known to happen in bars and restaurants for precisely the same purpose. Even so its More complicated to buy political Access now. The old $ 5,000 Liberal limit on donations to parties candidates or leadership hopefuls has been lowered to a modest $ 1,000 annual maximum. While greenhouse Gas emissions have not yet been hit with the hefty Carbon tax proposed by the liberals the government has moved to regulate reductions Over the longer term. National Parks particularly in the North have been dramatically expanded in size. Senators Are being targeted for fixed terms and possibly forced to stand for election in the future. A hefty helping of compensation and an emotional apology in the commons has started Healing from the decades old native residential school tragedy. Less dramatic apologies were issued for the chinese head tax and to the descendants of Komagata Maru passengers turned away in 1914. Of course the sudden demise of the 39th parliament will Render stillborn dozens of important initiatives including legislation dealing with copyright Protection food and product safety youth crime a National drug strategy and identity theft. But unfinished business happens whenever a snap election is called. Mind you a signature Law passed in 2006 was to Correct this electoral dysfunction by guaranteeing All governments a four year term to Complete their work. Prime minister Harper might have had cause to protest having his mandate shortened if the october 2009 Date for parliaments legislated demise was ignored. Trouble is hers the Guy breaking the spirit if not the letter of his own fixed election Law. Can West news service what dysfunction Don Martin Harper accomplished More than Martin Chretien Tom Hanson / the Canadian press Stephen Harper discusses Arctic environmental policy in front of the coast guard ship Nahi Dik in Tuktoyaktuk n. W. T. On wednesday. A 15_ aug 28 08. Ind a15 8/ 27/ 08 8 08 14 pm ;