Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Note To Parliament: Get a Job Life

You know it must be bad when Jon Stewart makes fun of you. Okay, okay, he does like to poke fun at Canadians a fair but but still ... a whole show devoted to us?!

At any rate, I certainly was reminded of the Daily Show shenanigans when reading this column. Reading this column and nodding my head vigorously in agreement. After all, it wasn't that long ago, that I was saying essentially the same thing. "Do your job already, will ya?"

And since then, it's only gotten worse. Just ask Stewart.

But sometimes, they just say it so much better than I ever could.

First, I don’t think it’s too much to ask for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to add the word "consensus" to his vocabulary. He does not have a mandate to govern like a bully any more than the opposition has a mandate to overthrow him.

It’s reasonable to expect Harper to find ways of getting things done by working with the opposition parties rather than by running roughshod over them.

It’s time, for the good of Canada, for Harper to learn that there are better ways to lead than by crisis and confrontation.

Admittedly, the opposition often objects for the simple sake of objection. But with the country tiptoeing on the edge of an economic trap door, Michael Ignatieff, Jack Layton and even Gilles Duceppe should be looking for ways to go beyond their base self-interest.

Canada needs this right now. This is a time when authentic leadership is required to help the country get through the economic challenges in its path.

Canadians do not agree that any one party has all the answers, a fact plainly demonstrated in the minority election result.

All of the parties claim they know best how to steer the country. But it is rank presumption for any one party to claim it has a monopoly on solutions. Quite the opposite: There’s more likely wisdom in the team.
So, yeah. What he said.

By the way, does anyone know when they are going to send the young'uns in for the night so the adults can actually govern the country for once? Sheesh ...

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