Monday, January 01, 2007

The Top Ten Most Over-Rated Political Stories of 2006

Here's a column I wrote a version of which appeared in the Calgary Sun on December 29th.

Every year at this time, it’s traditional to come up with “Top Ten Lists”.

That’s why we see things like the “Top ten best movies of the year”, “Top ten worst movies of the Year”, “Top Ten `Top Ten Lists’ of the Year”, and so on.

So not being one to argue with tradition (and since I am not all that original) I have come up with my own top ten list: “The Top Ten Most Overrated Political stories of 2006.”

And without further ado here it is:

Stephane Dion’s Dog

The media made a huge deal out of this mutt. Why? Because Liberal leader Stephane Dion named it “Kyoto”. This is supposed to prove Dion is an ardent environmentalist. Yeah, right. I’d be more excited if he called his parakeet “Tax Cuts” or his goldfish “Smaller Government.”

Michael Ignatieff’s Brain

Throughout 2006 the media was all giddy about how Michael Ignatieff was a “public intellectual” and a Harvard professor --as if any of that actually mattered. If intellect was all you needed to succeed in politics Stephen Hawking would be president.

Buzz Hargrove’s Political Savvy

When in the last federal election union boss Buzz Hargrove decided to go campaigning with Paul Martin and the Liberals – we were told this was a great coup. And as it turned out it was a coup, but for Stephen Harper and the Conservatives. And if the Tories are lucky, Buzz will campaign for the Liberals in the next election.

Stephen Harper’s “Right Wing Agenda”

When Stephen Harper was elected Prime Minister, the country’s left-wing elite warned us to brace ourselves for his hidden right wing agenda. Well I am still braced and I’m still waiting.

Joe Volpe’s Leadership Follies

A Liberal getting involved in questionable fundraising practices. Yeah that’s really headline news.

Court Challenges Program Getting Scrapped

When the Tories scrapped this program, which funded constitutional court challenges, some media-types and politicians went ballistic. But let’s face it, the only ones who really cared about it were left-wing special interest groups, feminist lawyers and Linda McQuaig

Belinda vs. Peter

If I want to watch a soap opera I will tune into the Young and the Restless.

Justin Trudeau as Heir Apparent

About the only person who thinks Justin Trudeau is worthy of any media attention at all is ---- Justin Trudeau.

Harper Vs. The Press Gallery

Stephen Harper and the Ottawa Press Gallery don’t like each other. This actually made lots of news in 2006. Memo to media: Nobody Cares!!

Green Party as a New Force in Politics

According to the media hype, the Elizabeth May-led Green Party is on the verge of an historic electoral breakthrough. Just like the Greens were on the verge of an historic electoral breakthrough in 2000, 2004 and 2006.

Of course, I realize that by making this list I am actually contributing to over-rating all these stories.

But that’s OK, because it gives me some ammo for the next “Top Ten List” I am working on.

It’s called the “Top Ten Biggest Ironies of 2006”.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

My favourite was the '$1 billion which Harper left on the table in the Softwood Lumber Deal'. This is a good example of an underlying theme which the Liberals and media fall back on to criticize whatever Harper does. I.E., he fell short of achieving perfection. But come election time, and voters are contemplating their ballot options, the only comparison that matters (except to Liberal kool-aid drinkers) is how Harper did compared to the Liberals. In this case, we know that the best Martin could negotiate was leaving $1.5 billion on the table. Yet the media keeps ignoring these real-life comparisons. Luckily, the Conservative War Room has lots of money to air election ads which will highlight this and other political considerations ignored by the media.