Beyond The Commons

Aaron Wherry covers all the goings-on in and around Parliament Hill. Follow Aaron on Twitter: @aaronwherry

Categories: Beyond The Commons, Capital Read

Going for a skate

by Aaron Wherry on Monday, January 17, 2011 4:32pm - 144 Comments

Not to be entirely outdone this day, the Liberals have released the following video of Michael Ignatieff skating about in a hockey jersey, high-fiving children: all no doubt intended to contrast with a Prime Minister who is “not a great skater.”

Tags: Hockey, london, ontario, Stephen Harper

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Richard_S_Argent

I have a sneaking suspicion that Ignatieff will prove to be a much better campaigner than many expect.

(and surprisingly good on his skates…well for a wannabe American Egghead that is :)

Mike T.

I strongly suspect he'll "win" the debates. His opponent harper certainly isn't in the habit of answering questions about his peformance and may not be able to defend himself on the fly.

burlivespipe

I expect Harper to have the debate prorogued before he's asked to answer questions without drinking a glass of water at the same time. Someone should check next time to make sure it isn't guzzler's gin…

Loraine Lamontagne

Having a debate is not written in law

Reverend_Blair

I suspect you are right.

I'll certainly never vote for the man, but I've gained some respect for his political skills since he became leader. He looks very natural in front of a crowd, whether it's on skates or taking questions, and he doesn't let it show when he gets whacked hard by one of the other parties.
hollinm

Wishful thinking my friend. Ignatieff is prone to sticking both feet in his mouth at the same time. Watch it happen during a 36 day campaign when the real pressure is on. He has had free rein but now the gloves are off. Enjoy the ads as Canadians are re-introduced to the real Ignatieff.

Richard_S_Argent

Know who I've never understood? People who wear clothing emblazoned with logos. I always thought that if the company was going to get me to advertise for them, they should pay me, or at least give me the clothing for free.

You're the political equivalent of a FUBU sweater

hollinm

No….I am an ordinary citizen who watches politics and given there are only two choices for government I have to make a decision. I have chosen the Conservative party. I have voted Liberal in the past but I have to make a decision. I will not vote for a man who was absent from the country for 34 years, criticized the country while away, called himself an American and has no idea what it is to govern. He is inexperienced and the Americans are going through a tough time because they elected a president with no experience.
One other thing. Ignatieff has not given me a reason to vote for him. Leaving the country defenseless (no planes), refusing to lock up crooks and wanting to cancel corporate tax cuts which will create jobs tells me he ain't the leader for me.

Richard_S_Argent

Too precious! Your paean to the Conservative Party (and why you…*cough* switched your vote from the Liberals) contains at least 7 current talking points!

Oh FUBU, you're the living end!
hollinm

I was talking about why I do not support the Liberals currently. Read the post again. I could back and tell you why I stopped voting for Trudeau and Jean Chretien. However, that would be reliving the past. I prefer to focus on today.
TimesArrow

"No….I am an ordinary citizen who watches politics and given there are only two choices for government I have to make a decision"

And if Rae becomes the liberal leader his record in Ontario will force your hand ; if Leblanc – too closely associated to the liberal party pooh bahs ; if Trudeau – bad blood…et al!
hollinm

Amen brother! The Libs are devoid of any real leadership candidates. You are right about Rae. I lived in Ontario during Rae Days and no thanks. He is a socialist no matter what he calls himself these days. Trudeau has to do a lot more to get experience. Can you imagine putting a 30+ kid in charge of the official opposition?. LeBlanc has potential but lacks the national profile. Don't know much about him.
I repeat in the next election there are only two choices for PM. I am more closely aligned to the Conservatives. That's to say I don't agree with everything the Conservatives do but I am not going to pile on like what happens on this blog.
TimesArrow

'I am more closely aligned to the Conservatives'

Actually i've never heard you fire a shot in anger at the conservatives; don't think you're fooling anyone but yourself on that one.
Jan

hollinm, your blue eyes are turning brown with that one. What a pathetic effort. For God's sake get it together, before you bore us to death.
hollinm

Ah, but my eyes are already brown Jan. So you should be happy because you already think I am full of it. You can call it what you want but I am happy to see the Conservatives taking a run at the opposition parties. They have been quiet for too long. The PM has been giving interviews lately and watch for more of them. The ads are being rolled out and with the Decima poll yesterday and Ignatieff whining about the ads his numbers will drop even further. Nobody likes a cry baby.
The Libs cannot spend money on ads, other than youtube, because Ignatieff is burning through cash on his cross country tours trying to convincie people he is something he is not. There will be little money left for a campaign. He may have to skate from city to city or maybe if it is spring rollerblade.

Patchouli

I'd rather watch Iggy skate than harper "sing."
Mandatory Jedi

Now, if only he knew what that little black thing those people with the sticks chased after he'd almost pass as Canadian.

Emily

Since he's as Canadian as you are, he knows all about hockey.

burlivespipe

I think MJedi is actually one of Harper's NRA hired blog-guns, so he doesn't know which end of the stick is for what — still trying to find the trigger.

Selena

Harper probably throws like a girl as well.

Stewart_Smith

I don't see any reason to start insulting an entire gender.

Elmer Mackay

Let's see Harper do this. Of course, he would probably have to have a team of 48 RCMP officers–no, scratch that, JTF in full battle dress and balaclavas–protecting him. The RCMP could stick to frisking the little kids under Fantino's personal supervision. before they were allowed within the third security perimeter. And of course there would have to be a hallelujah chorus of 40 or so staffers screaming rapturously like he was the Second Coming and bullying any reluctant members of the media to agree. Later, Kenney could go on Sun TV and tell us all that, "speaking in all honesty, as someone who went to a hockey academy as a kid, I have never seen someone more natural, more graceful on the ice than our Prime Minister". The following week, the CPC can run a new attack ad criticizing Ignatieff for lacing his boots the way he learned to as a child when his dad was posted in Yugoslavia – you know, the effete, European way. Kenney can quietly point out to the Croatian community that this wasn't a slur against all former Yugoslavs, just the chetniks – everyone could see that Ignatieff's blade stroke was quite obviously influenced by Serbian socialists. And when one or two journalists timidly note that Harper's face betrayed no particular enjoyment of the experience, the staffers who didn't catch pneumonia during their rare release from the dungeons can rush to blog and comment how incredibly unfair the lefty-socialist CBC and fellow travellers have been to poor, beleaguered, noble Stephen Harper.

Emily

THAT is a work of art. LOL Thanks!

Jan

He has really captured the essence of the state of the 'debate'.

Orson Bean

Yes, the fact that the Harper Haters on this board have gone completely off the deep end.

Emily

Nobody here even knows Harper….what they hate are his policies and ideology. They're bad for Canada.
Orson Bean

Umm, Emily, why don't you have another look at Elmer Mackay's post up there, and tell me what it has to do with "policies and ideology". (answer: it has SFA to to with policies and ideology)
Emily

I was answering you, not Elmer. I already applauded him.

I do wish you'd keep up.
Elmer Mackay

Pretty funny comment coming on a day when the Conservative Party has launched a whole raft of ads that are nothing but a hateful attack on the personality and character of Ignatieff.
Orson Bean

I don't like attack ads like that, and I'm not a member or supporter of the Conservative Party. But as far as I'm concerned, your original post displays symptoms of the same pathology that you now claim to attack, i.e., excessive, over-the-top partisanship. The only difference is the team that you're playing for.
Emily

Saying someone's post on a chatsite displays 'pathology' puts you squarely in the Con camp.
Orson Bean

huh?
Emily

Take a valium.

Or a warm milk and a good night's sleep.

You get too wound up in this stuff, and then you can't even follow it.
Orson Bean

I'm not about to feel bad about not being able to follow incoherence.
Emily

You are displaying incoherence….that's the problem.

Get some sleep.
Emily

Ping
Jan

Bean you're full of it. You're only 'not' t a Conserrvative when the doo doo hits the fan.
Elmer Mackay

If a single flippant entry on the comments section of an obscure web-only story on a declining newsmagazine's internet site can drive you to respond with multiple criticisms of the "pathology" and "hate" that motivates the hyperpartisan, surely by now you must have let rip on Harper and the CPC for crafting and running half a dozen attack ads that will be seen by millions and that will further pollute the political atmosphere they have already done so much to debase. Where can we read your masterful Philippic demolishing these ads and the meanness of spirit that inspired them?
Orson Bean

I really don't see the need for me to rip into Harper for those ads, when there are already a ton of posts on this board doing precisely that. I prefer to make posts that have a modicum of originality to them, rather than repeating sentiments that have already been expressed ad nauseam by other posters. I guess that means that you and I have a different approach to posting.
I am Spartacus

Hack.

Gary

WOW! So Sam the Eagle can perhaps skate a bit better than the PM. Cool Aaron, you've finally found SOMETHING this man MAY be better at. Did Bob Rae tie his skates?
I'll switch my vote post haste!
TimesArrow

Anyone notice Ignatieff has a decidely leftward tilt to his skating style?

hollinm

He is going to fall over if that leftward tilt continues. Trying to steal Layton's thunder is going to come back to bite him in the a$$.

TimesArrow

It was meant to be a joke…some folks are wound up too tight i guess.

hollinm

Mine was also meant to be a joke. I guess I failed. Sorry about that.

TimesArrow

no biggie :)

Mike T.

He looks like he's faking left to some, but he's always drifting steadily rightward.

tedbetts

I think you have a typo in your comment. You missed the quotation marks around the word "questions".
Pete

The skating was fine, but who walks onto a snowy outdoor rink wearing expensive, shiny black leather shoes without rubbers? I thought that was a little odd, unless this was an impromptu thing.

Mark

He was wearing a hockey jersey. With his name on it, no less! Doesn't seem to impromptu to me.

Love those rental skates though, they must have been pushing 20 years old.
Reverend_Blair

How do you know he didn't have a rubber?

Er, sorry, but somebody had to.

hollinm

DESPERATION!!!!!!!!!!!! It will take more than skating for Ignatieff to beat Harper in the election he is itching for badly. Look at the Decima poll today. So much for the meme, planes, prisons, and corporate tax cuts. It ain't selling. Watch for a change in tactics by the Libs.

Emily

LOL no that would be Harp's sad little ad about working late at night in a tie….without a computer.

And we've been through polls before…they go up, they go down…but Harp is no closer to a majority than he ever was.

'That represents the Tories' highest level of support since May, but it's still almost two points below what the party got in the 2008 election.'

hollinm

Oh Emily…the same talking points day after day. So tiresome. Like the stock market as you so wisely pointed out poll go up and down (insert sarcasm). However, the trend for the Conservatives is certainly better than for the Libs. Enjoy the ads and watch the Liberal poll numbers sink. No coalition eh. We shall see.

Emily

Hey, as long as you repeat your Harper-approved talking points, expect the same answers.

Cons are going nowhere…that's their trend….flatlining.

hollinm

You may be right and the Conservatives are going nowhere but I take comfort in the fact that the Libs are even further back.

hollinm

It doesn't seem to be hurting him. Your guy is continuing to fall behind as he continues to run around the country trying to convince people he is something he is not. Harper will speak to the media when he has something to say. However, in the meantime he is not going to give the left leaning media anything to b.tch about. Have you heard the expression actions speak louder than words.

danby

Sorry hollinm
In my world, accountability means answering questions without a script; one sided press releases are no substitute for thoughtful debate.
The left leaning media angle is a tired catchall designed to undercut any opposing opinion. There is no shortage of media willing to print Mr Harper's responses to the questions of a free press – it's not the fault of the media that he does not work without a net.
I saw Dalton McGuinty on "The Agenda" on TVO, and Steve Paikin was holding his feet to the fire. I doubt Dalton enjoyed the experience, but he sat and answered the questions and presented his views. I may noy have agreed with everything Mr McGuinty said, but I respected him for facing tough questions and sticking it out.

Actions speak louder than words

I think about that every time conservatives bray about their principled transparency and accountability stance

hollinm

Don't you worry about it one little iota. There is no politician today who is better at handling a press conference and you know it. He is not afraid of anything and he will deal with the media and of course Ignatieff when the time comes. By the way you guys should be happy. Without him holding press conferences the field is open to your guy to make an ass of himself.

danby

I find your notion that avoiding press conferences is the better way of handling them, skewed, to say the least.

By the way you guys should be happy

Do you know what would really make me happy?
All politicians openly stating their positions on a wide range of issues (shrinking the deficit, the environment etc) and taking probing media questions that force them off of tightly scripted talking points. If your platform is well reasoned, then wouldn't debate merely reinforce it's merit?

You can call Michael Ignatieff an "ass", but at this point, I'll take him over the guy who chooses name calling over open debate.

hollinm

Do you honestly believe the media in this country are interested in policies and pose difficult questions at press conferences? Then I am not seeing the same press conferences you are seeing. They ask lame questions and are only interested in the trivial, the horse race or putting forward hypothetical quesitons. It is a shame watching our media asking the leaders of the respective parties their lame questions. Probing? I don't thinks so. Its gotcha journalism at its best.
For example Michael Ignatieff is talking about cancelling the corporate tax reductions and using that money to expand the hand outs. He is running around the country and not one reporter puts forward a question which forces him to face the long held evidence that corporate tax cuts increase federal revenue and creates jobs. Is the question ever posed..Mr. Ignatieff are you prepared to increase corporate taxes if elected? How about….the corporate tax reductions were approved by your party in the 2007 budget. Why would you try to fool people into thinking that the corporate tax reductions are going to be in the next budget?
hollinm

hollinm continued
When have you heard Harper call Ignatieff a name. He never has and you know it. Give me an example. However, I have heard Ignatieff refer to the PM of the country as "that guy". Harper is always respectful of the opposition leaders but he does not agree with their policies.
danby

There is an appetite for gotcha journalism, but I also think there is a market for probing questions and expansive answers. I simply do not feel that the desire to avoid "gotcha" moments over rides the absolute responsibility to face questions that elevate the level of debate. You can argue that it's the nature of modern politics, but I think that dumbing things down to headlines does nothing for those who choose Macleans over the pamphleteers, and even less for the generation that comes after us.

Stephane Dion was elected leader of the Liberal party. He was immediately subjected to a campaign to brand him "not a leader" – at a time when there was no federal election.
Michael Ignatieff lived abroad for 30 odd years. An issue? Certainly. Does it warrant saturation bombing TV/radio ads spewing the "just visiting" headline – at a time when there was no federal election?

I'm sure that a clever fella such as you will concede that there are ways to name call without dirtying your own ~~hands~~ lips.
dudley doright

The CONs have relied upon the 'gotcha' mentality in the last two elections… who's Fantiino's buddy who use to be head of the RcMp -zacharelli? Notice during Martin's last campaign how he broke all past procedure about talking about an investigation… then there was the ethic-free members of the media, that maritimer and puffy duffy, couldn't break a long-held media rule to create an 11th hour tempest in a teacup. Gotcha is right, but just like this faux line of 'leftwing media' biz, it's all just a shield to hide their own slick dealings.
hollinm

I would agree that the quality of questions could be better and the media should not be looking for gotcha moments. They should be trying to inform the public in a fair and balanced way. Hah, am I silly.

You may not like it but this is politics in the 21st century. However, when a party refuses to say what they stand for or what they would do if elected or fails to put forward policies that one can assess then you get the personal attacks. You have to admit that there is little to go on when Ignatieff says no corporate tax cuts when in fact those tax cuts where approved back in 2007. The other limited policy ideas will be talked about in due course I am sure.
danby

By all means, when the election is declared, the opposing parties should roll out their agendas and face the questions the press is obligated to to ask. Yes there will be attempted gotchas, but there will also be discussion that will probe issues beyond the headlines.
My real issue is the parties sculpting talking points and then never deviating from them. Stephen Harper, Michael Ignatieff and Jack Layton are all intelligent men capable of thinking on their feet. My feeling is that if the leaders open up a dialogue, then the better journalists will also rise to the occasion – and if that happens, we all win..
As far as the wisdom of Mr Ignatieff's proposed end to the tax cuts – maybe it is a political maneuver. Stephen Harper ran on, and then shaved 2 points off the GST. This was a move that really had little financial impact on your average Canadian, but certainly reduced government revenue at a time when deficits were on the horizon. In my opinion, cutting the GST was also a political move – but was it fiscally prudent?
hollinm

You will get a platform from each of the parties. However, does the public really focus on the platform? I would say they do if there is a serious issue i.e. free trade. However, other than that they make their decision based on the performance of the leaders and who they believe has the most credibility and who will after their interests. Some of that is just gut feel but nevertheless a driving force.
The media very seldom challenges the leaders. They ask a question. The leader answers and it may be a non answer and then the next question is asked. No follow. No challenge.
Harper campaigned on the cut to the GST. Everybody took a shot at him i.e. good politics, poor economics but Canadians wanted the cut. You can say it is not much to each person but it is still the most hated tax in Canada.
TwoYen

This is a good point. Whatever one thinks of the PM, he has always been a gentleman.

chet

Oh my.

I'm sure Canadians will forget the very true fact that he left Canada back when the Bee Gees were the hot band (left in the late 70's) only to return when he had asperations for PM),

because he throws on some skates and says "see, see, I am too Canadian."

This so smacks of reactive desperation it is funny.
chet

I'm pretty sure though, that Iggy believes us unwashed masses (and non Ivy league lessers),

actually believes that Canadians will forget the very true fact that Iggy supported a coalition government with the NDP and Bloc,

….because…you know…he like skates and such…

Selena

in 2004 Harper wrote a letter to the then GG Clarkson, saying that with his BQ & NDP colleagues they formed a majority should Paul Martin's government fall. I guess tht it was OK to get into bed with the separatists when it could mean power for him. Can you spell hypocrite? Just think, had he been successful, the looting of the countries finances could have begun even earlier.

hollinm

And what does the letter say? The letter did not say what you said it said. It said in essence you have choices GG. That's it. No one knows what that agreement would have looked like. However, the likelihood of the GG going against Martin's advice to hold an election was pretty remote. However, keep beating the drum. Yep he looted the finances of the country. He put the money in his pocket and ran just like Jean Chretien right.

Elmer Mackay

When you can spare a moment from masticating reams of CPC talking points in preparation for regurgitating them all over this blog, read the Constitution (and learn that it says nothing that prevents coalitions and agreements between parties); and have a look at how coalitions and agreements are the norm in parliamentary democracies around the world (including, currently, in the mother parliament at Westminster). If after that you're still frightened of coalitions, why not take a moment to write to Harper to ask what exactly he was thinking when sent the Governor-General a letter to say that he had struck a deal with the NDP and Bloc and was ready to take over from Martin? I'm sure you'll be reassured that Harper's deal with the Bloc was much more principled and patriotic because, you know, Don Cherry liked it or something.

Holly Stick

A coalition of the opposition parties would provide much better government than the Harper minority is providing right now. I'd love to see a coalition!
Trudeau lover

When you can spare a moment from masticating "Liberal" party talking points, you can go back to looking for that wascawy wabbit.

Elmer Mackay

It's just soooo "scary" when you put the word "Liberal" in "quotation marks" like "that". Did you learn that masterful trick in the eighth and final year you went to school?

BCer in Mtl

Charlie don't surf

Harper don't skate
psiclone

ROFL! oh dear I almost snorted my double double out of my nose I laughed so hard – YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME? Aaron – please tell me this is a joke right ? – wow I almost feel sorry for him right now :(
Emily

LOL Harper can't write books either.
Crit_Reasoning

Did anyone notice that those kids were calling Ignatieff "prime minister"? How precious!
CAPS

Thank you for contributing so much to the discourse of this board. Pray tell what is so ROFL funny about this?

He actually looks very much at ease out there with everybody and he skates quite well it must be said.
Mike T.

Heh,he can skate. must be Canadian after all :)
Patchouli

The dear, prescient little tots — from the mouths of babes, CR.
TimesArrow

Unfortunately for him they can't vote.
Emily

Their parents can.
gottabesaid

Are we electing prime ministers on skating ability? How about piano-playing ability?

When judging who might make a good prime minister, why do we insist on giving importance to fluff like this?

Sigh.

BTW, if Jack Layton can burp the national anthem, he's got my vote.
Richard_S_Argent

Well to be fair, we're still galaxies apart from our American counterparts when it comes to this kind of thing :)

(also, it's not completely superfluous for a sixty-something politician to show he's still physically spry. )
Jan

Well, it seems you have to do this kind of thing to appeal to the 'average voter'. If out pandering Harper is what it takes I say go for it at this point.
hollinm

Because that's the best news Wherry has had in a long time. That was before he saw the Decima poll out today.
tedbetts

It's why Chretien used to run up the stairs after QP, to show he's no one's "yesterday's man".
gottabesaid

I think Stock Day on the jet ski ruined my view of all these things.
Tceh

Whaaat!? No Hockey Book??? I was planning to re-gift it Christmas 2006 and 2007 and 2008 and 2009 and 2010
burlivespipe

But he's the first PM to sacrificed a speech writer after one of his famed speeches was a virtual verbatim dupe of a John Howard love letter to GW Bush…
Al O'Wishes

But probably won't.
Emily

LOL Harper and hockey are like Bush and ranching….all for show.
Mark

They don't have skating at Harvard? Didn't fringe NHL players Steve and Dominic Moore play at Harvard?
Mark

Yeah, that's so true. Canadian politicians aren't allowed to do anything that 'normal' people do without being lambasted by everyone for trying too hard (which Stockwell Day obviously was).
Reverend_Blair

I think that's one view we all could have done without.
Richard_S_Argent

I think Day's problem was that he wasn't trying to show how spry he was. He was trying to show how old Chretien was. And that kind of thing just comes across as mean.
Emily

Of course they will.

Why would they vote for fighterplanes and empty prisons?
frobisher

And the Governor-General.
BCer in Mtl

And Ken Dryden played for Cornell
Orson Bean

Nice talking points, Emilybot.
hollinm

What you didn't know was that he went for a nap after the jaunt up the stairs :-)
burlivespipe

Of course Harper has removed that possibility by just hiding from the media. No need to see his Jabba the Hutt legs crease his stiff pants.
Emily

No, he's not like you.
tedbetts

I've come to think of Chretien as being much like Reagan (although much less well read): really sharp as a tack and totally in control when it comes to leadership and direction of government.

Reagan's charm was to appear a bit aloof and jocular and not so caught up in the technical. When he went after his opponents, there was more often an element of humour to it ("there you go again", "we begin bombing in 45 minutes") which took a bit of the edge off the harshness of how he went for the jugular. Chretien was very much in that vein. If Harper had an ounce of that kind of charm, he might start to be popular with Canadians.
jonatwitan

Ooo, he skates well and he hugs random little girls, whereas Harper works with no computer and won't even hug his own son. Mmmmm, my decision about my own vote is becoming clearer and clearer…
hollinm

Nobody and I mean nobody believes that Ignatieff is a hockey player or is even interested in hockey. His reputation is well established as an elitist snob who doesn't even know you don't have your picture taken watching a hockey game in a suit, drinking beaujolais. Keep the faith Jan. Did you see the Decima poll today? How's the meme about planes, prisons and corporate tax cuts working out for your illustrious leader. Time for change in strategy. Wait till the ads play for a week.
Emily

It was also the wrong way to hold an official press conference as leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition
tedbetts

C'mon. Who shows up to their first press conference as Leader of Her Majesty's Official Opposition in a wetsuit after riding a jetski? Only someone who is being advised by Ezra Levant… and following his advice. That's two knocks against Stock right there.
tedbetts

Oh please. The media has regurgitated all of Harper's talking points, piano-playing videos, every single one of the many ads in their many national multi-million dollar attack ad campaigns. Relax once in a while.
Emily

Oh you're a Con today are you? You always are it seems when you stop playing mugwump. LOL
jonatwitan

I know you are but what am I?
jonatwitan

No it wasn't, you're the wrong way to hold a press conference.
hollinm

Of course the media is reporting what the PM of the country is saying and doing. That's the way it works. Look forward to the Libs Youtube videos when the media decides to report on them. Did you not see the puff piece on Igantieff in the Globe today by Gordon Gibson. It should have done your heart good. It made me want to vomit my breakfast.
Emily

The middle part of your name.
hollinm

Well now we have to refer to a Republican President of the United States to comfort ourselves do we? Chretien managed. He did not govern. All the problems that the Libs blame Harper for were problems when Chretien in his 13 years of majority governments could have gone a long way to solving. He did not and so today there is no real legacy for Chretien other than covering the deficit on the backs of the provinces, stealing money from the EI fund and of course adscam.
Emily

Normally I don't hold press conferences, guy.

But since Stock is no longer with us, it was the wrong way to do one
Emily

LOL like you'd know.

Harp is lower than last election btw
Elmer Mackay

Right on, hollinm – only wimps who wouldn't know a hockey puck from an overdone crêpe drink wine. I mean, check out this sad case: gretzkyestateswines.com
MarkD

Given that Harper is apparently a "big hockey fan" – so much so that he loves to steal from the public purse to fly himself and his cronies to far-flung games on a regular basis – it's funny that the guy can't actually skate. Actually not funny, more like unsurprising – the man is nothing but a lying chameleon who wraps himself in our flag and culture.
Claudia Lemire

But Harper has a beatles mug :)
stephen

"All the problems that the Libs blame Harper for were problems when Chretien in his 13 years of majority governments could have gone a long way to solving."

Yeah, I remember that time the Libs cut the GST and blew the budget.
Orson Bean

News flash: It's possible for Person A (let's call him "Orson") to see that Person B (let's call her "Emily") is spewing obvious Liberal Party of Canada talking points ("Fighter Planes and Prisons!") without Parson A being a Conservative. All Person A really has to be in order to see that is a sentient being.
Jan

It could have been worse – Ezra could have been on the back.
Orson Bean

Oh my God, Gordon Gibson?

Talk about a spent rocket.
dudleydoright

Coincidental that the poll comes out the same day as Harper's annual attack ads? The polling companies know who butter their bread and a few of them are happy to add jam to it. When there's a real audit of Harper's mismanagement, we'll see that he's been filtering taxpayers money into more than just weekly focus groups and singining lessons…
Orson Bean

Reasoning parsed: if you're a hockey fan and you can't skate, you're a liar.

Reasoning fail.
burlivespipe

Can't even wrangle himself a hockey hall of famer onto his team. Just bunch of lame 2nd degree stars and bobbleheads. Read leaders don't surrender their souls to be a yesman, i guess.
Emily

Harper likes hockey as much as Bush liked ranching.

Harper skates as well as Bush rode a horse.

Which gives the lie to each.
Jan

Shush – you'll gets the bots all fired up about the coalition etc.
Jan

Bean, you're going positively botty, you really are.
Jan

Somebody should actually track those – poll result releases and Harper's activities. I'm not holding my breath.
Trudeau lover

This is the kind of irrelevant photo-op nonsense that appeals to the shallowness and superficiality of the "Liberal" follower. One can just imagine the rapture that would occur if the media were assembled to the grounds of Parliament Hill to witness the glorious spectacle of Pierre Trudeaus kid performing a somersault, and then lighting one of his own farts on fire. "Liberals" would of course see this as a sign of brilliance and competency. Let's hope Iggo is skating all the way back to Haaavard with his hockey sweater tucked into his underpants, never to return.
Elmer Mackay

Well said, sir! Verily it is a blessing that we have a PM who is completely above pulling patently absurd stunts like going skating in public. You'd never see Harper, for example, lamely flopping around on a stage pretending to like the Stones so that a bunch of drunk staffers can hold their lighters in the air and proclaim him a rock god in front of tame media crews. Nope, only the "Liberals" (whose silliness is so amply proven by those quotation marks) do this sort of thing.
hollinm

And I remember the days when Chretien objected to the GST and said he would cancel it if elected. I remember he kept the GST, embraced NFTA and had one of the best economies in the world because of those Conservative policies. I also remember that we had the highest personal taxes of any in the G7 during his dark 13 years of majority governments. So we can play that tit for tat game if you like.
hollinm

Isn't that an intelligent response. You need to grow up man. By the way you will note the PM has been giving interviews the last few days. Watch for more. There is no politician sitting in Parliament today that handles a media interview better than Harper. However, feel free to continue to hurl insults.
hollinm

Tinfoil hats anyone?
Gary

Yes, the flopping around the stage was so lame, that Bob Rae just had to try to one up the PM.
Try again!
Orson Bean

I've just never had the time of day for Gordon Gibson. The guy always struck me as singularly unimpressive. As for his politics, he was (and I assume still is) a provincial BC Liberal. I have supported the provincial BC Liberal Party for many years and continue to do so. So wtf are you talking about?
Elmer Mackay

At least Bob Rae didn't make an a$$ of himself, unlike Harper. Harper looks like the kind of guy who finds Billy Joel a little raunchy, but his advisers told him it would be way cool to play a Rolling Stones song, so like a robot he did. He's lucky that within days he had been out-a$$ed by Vladimir Putin's even more awkward musical performance.
Holly Stick

In a wetsuit? Eeewwwww!
Trudeau lover

Chill out, Elmer Fudd… you're out a$$ing yourself. Take a pill and sit back and think of Pierre Trudeau pirouetting and sliding down bannisters, while imposing the War Measures Act, that should make you feel better. Silly wabbit.