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Wednesday, October 26, 2005 Basic Black by Arthur Black And your next PM is... I've just been in a motel room with the next Prime Minister of Canada. The Quality Resort on Dogwood Street in Parks ville, B.C., of all places. I checked into room 306, tossed my backpack on the double bed, flipped on the TV and there he was, a pugfaced pugfaced guy standing behind behind a lectern with an Empire Club of Canada logo on it. He was talking talking about our country and 'The Loud Cousin' next door and the profound profound differences be tween the two. The guy looked anything but slick. In fact, he looked like an ex-hockey player and he talked like a meat-and-potatoes guy--with a brain. He didn't use notes or cue cards or a TelePrompTer. The crawl line at the bottom bottom of my TV screen identified him as Frank McKenna. Hell, I knew Frank McKenna, Used to be premier of New Brunswick, right? I knew he'd been down in Washington for the past while, knocking heads with U.S. diplomats as the Canadian ambassador, ambassador, but I'd never thought about him much. Or heard him speak. I watched him for twenty-five minutes, standing there in room 306," my remote clicker in one hand, my room key in the other. "Son of a gun", I said to myself approximately. "This guy's our next Prime Minister." Understand that I have no inside information information to base that on. It's right from the gut. And it came from watching him on TV. Which was transformational transformational in itself. I hardly hardly ever watch TV anymore anymore and when I do, I tolerate it more than enjoy it. To me, television television is. like some garrulous, garrulous, dim-witted neighbour, neighbour, half in the bag, yakking about irrelevant stuff in a meaningless way. Watching and listening listening to McKenna was different. He connected. He made sense. As I watched, the thought unfolded in the back of my brain that we have all been living under an intercontinental cone of bullshit for some time. And it seems to me that Frank McKenna comes from somewhere outside that cone. As compared to, say, pretty well everyone else on the political front. Think of George Classified Business Directory This space won't last for long... only $7.09 per week for one year! Call now to book 905-983-5301 Fine Finishes by T. Osmond COMPLETE Furniture Repair and Restoration Caning • Veneering • Carving French Polishes & Wicker Repair 905-786-2477 Experience You Can Trust GRUNDY'S COUNTRY UPHOLSTERY 3375 Cone. Rd. 7 (905) 983-9874 www.grundysupholstery.com BRYON GRUNDY 8 TOFFS! 4X83553" LARRY JACKSON PLUMBING & WATER CONDITIONING • Pump Repairs & Installation • UV Lights •.Water Softeners • Free Estimates For Friendly, Expert Service Call 905-983-6214 Pro Painting Why Wait... 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When's the last time you believed anything you heard a politician say? I can't even remem-. ber. Well, yes I can, come to think of it--although the politician was a greenhorn. It was when Michaelle Jean became our Governor General. The speech she made was so eloquent, so passionate passionate and so obviously heartfelt it made me weep with pride. "Sure, sure," my brutal inner cynic muttered. "She's new to politics. She'll learn." Maybe not. Frank McKenna talked about our new Governor General in my motel room this morning too. He pointed out how amazing it is that we belong to a country where a black Haitian woman can go from refugee status to the highest office in our land in her. own lifetime. 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But he's got something. something. Something I haven't haven't seen or heard from any politician for a long time. It occurs to me that he is either the best actor I've ever seen in politics (and I lived through Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton) or he is that almost unheard of public figure: A Real Person. And, if he can reach enough other Canadians the way he reached me in room 306 of the Quality Resort in Parksville this morning, I think he's got what it takes to be Canada's next prime minister. If we're lucky. .. • be a non-smoker • eat 5-10 servings of vegetables and fruit a day • be physically active • limit your alcohol consumption • use sun protection • follow cancer-screening' guidelines Find out MORE about reducing your risk of developing cancer. Call us at 1 888 939-3333 or visit www.cancer.ca. Canadian Société Cancer canadienne Society du cancer YOU R BRI. AS I U KA1.TH BE AWARE Know your body, l e, mi ilie risk factors. BE PROACTIVE follow bieatVscrcrinng guideline! 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