Musical Harper

I remember when Bill Clinton was elected it had the same electrifying feel as Obama's here in Canada - surprise, surprise for California North or Californada. We sat around the table watching his inaugural party. Major news outlets were fawning over the sax playing, Rhodes scholar seen as America's "first Black President." Which in itself was a stupid and insulting phrase if you ask me.

I digress.

Point is they loved the guy. Canadian companies still to this day dish out hundreds of thousands of dollars to hear him speak about things they should already know.

And the fact he played the sax. Oooo, nelly! Dexter Gordon here we come!

Yet. Yet, the same networks made little, if any, of the fact that our own Prime Minister - Stevie Harper -  is a musician and an academic stand out himself. Here he's seen singing Neil Diamond's 'Sweet Caroline' at a Tory caucus jamboree. Last year, I posted him singing a Beatles classic 'With a little help from my friends' with Yo-Yo Ma.

But if this was shown on NBC or ABC or CBS or FOX or CNN, boy would that American confirmation change our tune. Excuse the pun.


They talk about charisma. Clinton has it and Harper doesn't. I reckon therein lies the rub. Personally, I always stand two feet (give or take) from people with high charisma. Just in case.