ok…Let’s Keep the Focus Folks!

I was upbraided the other day for my rather caustic attitude towards politicians who won’t declare their assets. The argument was very cogently put that such an attitude is exactly why many very good people do not stand for public office. It was further pointed out to me that even less than stellar individuals (like me) will not stand because of a desire to keep one’s private life private.

The scolding actually makes sense, and in many ways is quite correct. The focus must be on the individual and their policies rather than how they arrived at the moment. What they have done is important; their accomplishments are valid targets for re-examination. But we ought not to condemn a potential politician for being successful in the private sector (or any other sector for that matter); perhaps we should actually laud them.

This then caused me to re-examine my attitude towards the leaders of our current campaign. Firstly I discount the CCP because I have no idea what the leader is doing these days. Secondly I discount the Greens because I am not sure they have any idea what they are doing these days. This might also go for the NDP with the exception that there is no doubt they have an incredible ability to door-knock and get out the committed left wing vote. So while I have little use for their leader because of his incredibly unethical behaviour during the last two years of the last parliament, I do not condemn him because of his choice of handbags, wrist watches or automobiles (in fact, if it is true he drives a BMW, then he does have good taste).

I have a number of concerns about the Conservative leader, but it is more to do with the somewhat mishmash in direction of his campaign. I will address all that later, perhaps in a chapter of the Epistle of Q. I will not condemn him though for being somewhat of a career politician. He obviously is suited to such a career and in doing so gave up many opportunities in both the private and not-for-profit sectors. That he wishes to give his life for service to his country, again I commend him.

That leaves the leader of the Liberals. Again I am not going to dwell long on his policies at this point other than to say either he is really a Progressive Conservative (he has adopted most of the Conservative election platform) or a charlatan (his book on Values is almost polar opposite to what he is saying & doing at the moment). More to the point of how he arrived at a political moment, the fact that he has made millions should not be of concern – if he did so illegally, the system has had lots of time to discover that and charge him. It hasn’t, so I accept that his wealth is legitimate. As to where he has investments, I wish he was somewhat more transparent but he is within his rights not to be and if that troubles you don’t vote for him. There is another issue though that has me troubled – the rather spurious attack on his academic credentials. I hate to be a whiner, but if you think he has plagiarized his dissertation, your complaint must be to Oxford. He has written and been examined on that writing and found to be in good standing. (I know this because Oxford has just reconfirmed publicly that he was full measure for his degree!) Thus there is no further argument to be made —Full Stop. (Note: I too have a PhD, from an equally prestigious institution and whether or not you like my dissertation is of no consequence to its validity because that institution awarded it based on the recommendation of internal and external reviewers of substance who read it, analyzed it, questioned me for several hours on it, and then said it met the standards of a Ph.D. – the same process the Liberal leader went through!)

So let me say this: over the next three or more weeks, spend time examining the policies, programs and past political behaviours of the various parties. Don’t waste your time wondering if one leader is richer than the others, if one is more justly educated than the others. What have they done that is relevant to the re-strengthening of our country, what will they do to ensure that new avenues are pursued that will get us out of the quagmire our former PM lowered us into, and what skills do they have that are relevant to the moment and to the existential crisis we have now found ourselves in (and sadly ill-prepared for).

In reflection,
g.w.