Other Politics

There was a time, following the Watergate scandal of 1972-74, when it seemed as though every young person in North America wanted to be a journalist.

Journalism promised excitement and glamour. Universities could not keep up with the demand for new journalism schools. A survey at the time found there were more students in J-schools in the United States than there were jobs on all the country’s daily newspapers.

That was then.

Now that he doesn’t have former premier Kathleen Wynne to kick around any more, Doug Ford – being the sort of politician who, like Donald Trump, needs an antagonist to vent about – has turned his sights to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

His attacks escalate by the week.  “We’ve taken Kathleen Wynne’s hand out of your pocket … and we’re going to take Justin Trudeau’s hand out of your pocket,” he told a cheering crowd of 600 that assembled last week to celebrate his first 100 days as premier.

Have you noticed there’s not a whole lot of fun in politics these days?

There is plenty of angst, but not much humour in Donald Trump’s Washington. In Canada, serious politicians make serious speeches about serious subjects – pipelines, climate change, immigration, border security, NAFTA, street crime, making pot legal, even the size of Toronto city council.

Aside from Doug Ford’s epic achievement – buck-a-beer for the “real” people of Ontario – there’s not much to laugh about.

The death on Saturday of United States Senator John McCain removed a unique player from the political stage.

War hero, patriot, presidential candidate (in 2008), and for 35 years the “lion of the Senate,” McCain embodied qualities of independence and courage that are prized, but are rarely found among politicians, in Canada as in the United States.

“Words! Words! Words!/ I’m so sick of words!
… Never do I ever want to hear another word./ There isn't one I haven't heard.”
– Eliza Doolittle in “My Fair Lady”

It’s pretty clear that the estimable Ms. Doolittle never met Donald Trump.

If she had, she might have told him to hush up, to put a sock in it, to give the world a break. She might even have snipped his Twitter feed long enough to give the rest of us a chance to figure out what he is saying, what he means, and what he truly intends.