Harper Impresses at the Francophonie Summit Bucharest

[Ricki Bobbi]

Wow, that is pathetic. I think even less of him now. I know he never let a chance go by to stick it to someone he didn't like, like staying in office for two more years just to stick it to Martin, but this is a new low. Harper is a different animal by far, imagine a politician who does what he says.

Chretien was mean-spirited and really despised Paul Martin. Part of the reason was that Chretien *truly* felt that the country was better off with him as PM instead of Martin.

Guess he was right on that one...

[betsy]

Chretien never embarrassed Canada.

Or are you referencing his impediment?

Some people would think having a PM's photo looking like a thug plastered on the front page, an embarrassment.

Some people would think getting Canada to resemble a banana republic sinking fast in the sea of corruption, an embarrassment.

Some people would think having a PM coddle and approve of trashy antics of his MPs...having no inkling of diplomacy and class....quite an embarrassment.

[Argus]

Chretien never embarrassed Canada.

Or are you referencing his impediment?

I think front page pictures of him strangling some poor guy who got in his way were kind of embarrassing.

[jbg]

Chretien never embarrassed Canada.

Or are you referencing his impediment?

I think front page pictures of him strangling some poor guy who got in his way were kind of embarrassing.

The Shawinigan handshake?

[geoffrey]

Chretien never embarrassed Canada.

Or are you referencing his impediment?

I think front page pictures of him strangling some poor guy who got in his way were kind of embarrassing.

I was quite impressed myself.

[M.Dancer]

Chretien never embarrassed Canada.

Or are you referencing his impediment?

I think front page pictures of him strangling some poor guy who got in his way were kind of embarrassing.

I too was impressed with Chrietien's hands on approach....besides....how many of you can say seeing some raving protester throttled made you sad?

[Remiel]

I always found that kind of funny. I mean, Chretien is an old guy, and the other dude was like half his age. If he got throttled, he should be ashamed of himself, for letting it happen.

[MSH]

Chretien never embarrassed Canada.

Or are you referencing his impediment?

Yeah, Adscam and Peppergate to name just two incidents were of no consquence internationally. Neither was his admonition to G-8 leaders to do it his way and follow Canada in running an economy.

Chretien, by the way, could speak in very articulate and clear English when he chose to do so he often did at dinner speaking engagements. The personna he projected when in front of national audiences was quite different.

Chretien was only articulate when speaking from a prepared speech. This is why he was more impressive at dinner speaking engagements. When he had to improvise Chretien was noticeably less articulate. This is NOT becase he is uncomfortable in the English language--he is equally fluent in both languages, thick French accent notwithstanding. That isn't saying much because he was equally prone to gaffes in both languages. I am not just talking syntatically (his assistants and even the press have been known to silently correct his grammatical errors though). Chretien just plain says silly things. There is a book called "Quotations from Chairman Jean"--a list of verifiable silly quotes attributed to Jean Chretien. It rivals the list of silly quotes generated by the likes of Dan Quayle.

Incidents like Adscam and Peppergate do not influence international affairs--that is for certain. He was passable on the international stage but far from stellar--basically he was good at reading speeches. Once he diverted from script he became mildly embarrassing. Essentially, he speaks what I'd call "lumberjack French" - minus cursing. Hard to explain, but what you heard in English during press scrums is what he'd sound like in French too.

Some have suggested it was an act to come across as "the little guy from Shawinigan" and ad to his common-man appeal. I think that is really more deceptive than what even Chretien would consider. He simply isn't good at unscripted speech. Nothing to be embarassed about--it is actually a rare talent.

That Chretien did that WAS embarrassing from an internatinal standpoint stemmed more from his foreign policy actions (and perhaps more so, his INactions). In bilateral or multilateral talks, Chretien was known to be somewhat confrontational, impatient, etc. when things were not going his way. Despite this he was not very effective at being assertive so in the end Canada's position would not be well represented. Under his regime, however, it was what he DIDN'T do that was embarassing. He antagonised the US because he couldn't respect the ideological differences with the Bush regime and did nothing to heal such rifts. He made drastic cutbacks in our armed forces which severely reduced our global influence. He did little to nothing at all to defend a distinctly Canadian stance internationally. After 9/11 he couldn't even be bothered to make an immediate and sincere show of condolence and suport for the US and the victims of the tragedy. Was there ANYTHING he could've done without reading the latest research poll or consulting his inner circle to see if it would get him more votes first?

He wasn't embarrassing because of his physical impediment, his language skills or even domestic scandals. He was embarrassing mostly becasue he was invisible internationally and drastically reduced our global presence during his tenure. The international community can brush off eccentricities if someone has substence and presence behind them. Chretien had no substance or presence to speak of--his motto seemed to be "go with the flow" and his goal seemed to be to fool enough people to vote him back into office. As a result he commanded little respect on the international stage.

Contrast this to Harper: I was concerned initially on this area becasue Harper was relatively inexperienced in political office and not as well travelled compared to most other past PMs. On this front, however he has been very impressive. Almost immediately after being sworn in he stepped right into the role of statesman, meeting personally with US and Mexican presidents, making sure the softwood dispute resolution moved forward (whether or not everyone was completely satisfied with the reults), visiting troops in Afghanistan, and not only making a good first impression at La Francophonie but also asserting a distinctly Canadian viewpoint and holding his ground without being intimidated and without looking belligerent. Whether or not you agree with Harper's policies or his methods, it's hard to make an argument that he is not a good statesman. It's about time we had a PM with an international presence and respect in the leagues of Trudeau and Mulroney (note: presence and respect doesn't mean being popular or well liked, because neither were popular nor well liked at various points by various people...but they WERE respected and WERE internationally recognised statesmen).

[Argus]

I always found that kind of funny. I mean, Chretien is an old guy, and the other dude was like half his age. If he got throttled, he should be ashamed of himself, for letting it happen.

The protester was half his size, too. And what was he supposed to do? Punch out the Prime Minister?

[jbg]

Chretien never embarrassed Canada.

Or are you referencing his impediment?

I think front page pictures of him strangling some poor guy who got in his way were kind of embarrassing.

I was quite impressed myself.

By Chretien?

[Leafless]

I always found that kind of funny. I mean, Chretien is an old guy, and the other dude was like half his age. If he got throttled, he should be ashamed of himself, for letting it happen.

The protester was half his size, too. And what was he supposed to do? Punch out the Prime Minister?

PM Chretien (brave man) was in no position to loose, with his squad of body guards.

This act of violence towards the victimized protestor shows a total lack of intolerance concerning a free democratic society and the right to protest. This highlighted the hatred directed to anyone who dares protest in the way or around Mr.Chretien.

[Remiel]

There was video footage. Say the guy had defended himself, by rebuffing Chretien's attacks (not by hitting back), and then the guards had gone medieval on him. The courts would of had to rule in his favour on the grounds of self defense, and what was one small incident would of become the downfall of the government.

[jbg]

There was video footage. Say the guy had defended himself, by rebuffing Chretien's attacks (not by hitting back), and then the guards had gone medieval on him. The courts would of had to rule in his favour on the grounds of self defense, and what was one small incident would of become the downfall of the government.

Chretien didn't need the guards to do that at all. He went medieval.

[Ricki Bobbi]

This act of violence towards the victimized protestor shows a total lack of intolerance concerning a free democratic society and the right to protest. This highlighted the hatred directed to anyone who dares protest in the way or around Mr.Chretien.

The right to protest isn't the right to invade the personal space and security of the head of our country.

The RCMP detail should have all been fired for letting the protester get so close.