Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category

Recently I read an opinion piece by Barbara Yaffe entitled  PM’s wife stepping out of the shadows then I check the top of the newspaper to make sure I hadn’t regressed in time. The repetitious ‘wife of’ along with phrases such as ‘becoming chatelaine of 24 Sussex avenue’ & ‘highly judicious manner’ had the role of the PM’s wife playing out like a political version of Father Knows Best.

While the US title for the president’s spouse of First Lady is not great; it has definition and in that capacity she does have the support and lee way to define the role and subsequent contributions during the President’s term.

Compare Michelle Obama  on the White House website to Lauren Harper on the Prime Minister’s of Canada website. For balance we can look at the more traditional first lady, Laura Bush and what she accomplished during her years in the White House.

What is keeping the Prime Minister’s wives from fulfilling the potential of their position? Is it an outdated political protocol in Ottawa, type casting by the press or the personality types of the wives themselves? 

One day a Canadian first lady will give that role the depth that it deserves; which is not as the article suggests about being a media personality nor is it about enhancing a husband’s political image. It is recognizing the opportunity to make a difference, leave an imprint in Canadian history and when the children ask what did you do while daddy was Prime Minister the answer is not going to be “Making sure that no one noticed me”.

With Your Biscotti & Coffee

Instead of An Interesting Woman I thought that I would end the year with a few good men and the choices may surprise you.

1. There is little doubt that the old style of politics is gradually and thankfully becoming a thing of the past. Today’s young politicians like Newark’s new mayor are running their cities from the streets. Is Cory Booker the Greatest Mayor in America? by Lucy Kaylin makes you believe in the future of some of America’s defunct cities.

2. South Africa no longer has the wisdom and steady hand of two of its most revered statesmen. In October at the age of 79 Archbishop Desmond Tutu retired. Nelson Mandela is 92 and November of this year his foundation asked that the public allow him to have a peaceful retirement.  

3. At number four is the often abrasive, sometimes inarticulate Prince Charles. Recently interviewed by Brain Williams there is no doubt that above all else he has accomplished a lot through The Prince’s Charities and has been a visionary when it comes to  the environment and organic farming.

Funny how you can plan a week to go one way but life has a different plan. Just one of the unexpected bumps was chocolate lab Duke became ill. In spite of the amazing strides that we have made with this rescue dog his chronic anxiety is never far from the surface, that along with the fact that he is getting old led to a bad bout of acute gastritis. Translated this means a week of cleaning up dog vomit.

Anyway thanks to his amazing vet clinic we are on the road to recovery. I am grateful that the Animal Care Centre, here is Strathmore treats the whole dog – body, mind and spirit. As well as medications we went home on Friday with something called a D.A.P. Collar it releases pheromones which apparently produced wonderful results in helping to calm stressed dogs. We will see.

What I had planned to write about this week was India; a key part of President Obama’s 10 day Asia trip. The world is paying  a lot of attention to this country and for more reasons than it being a source of call centers for overseas companies. The President has announced a 20 new trade deals that included such institutional companies as GE, Harley-Davidson and Boeing

This year the week of Diwali– the Hindu Festival of Lights falls from November 3rd to 7th.  In the same way that Hollywood releases movies to coincide with the holiday season this is the week that Bollywood does the same. It has not been the banner year that India’s film makers had planned on so they are hoping that Bollywood can go global.

Keep an eye on this part of the world as globalization stands to not only improve the economy but will make us richer in our cultural perceptions.

The majority of my coaching is done by phone which means that I don’t have to tidy my office or change out of my comfy shoes. So with a client coming over Monday at 9am I had to quickly go through my mental checklist to make sure that I was ready. Coffee pot on, files & books straightened into neat piles, quick dust, clean hand towel & fresh soap in the office bathroom, resources that she had sent me put into her file along with my notes, change shoes ……check.

Now while doing this Duke (aging, semi-neurotic chocolate lab) has been following me around. So I switch to the dog’s check list………walked, fed, water changed, toys at the ready and he didn’t look like an unmentionable body fluids where about to erupt from either end. So I stopped rushing and processing for a minute, put my hand on his face and asked him what his problem was. He then quietly leaned into me and let out a small contented sound. All he wanted was a few minutes of attention; to be stroked & loved…. this was a reminder to me that we don’t put love on a to-do list.

In between clients while I am writing or or doing administrative work I usually have a news channel such as the BBC or CNN on. This was the case when the second and  much more sombre occurrence happened this week. I am referring to the death of Neda Agha Soltan. The announcer quietly issues a warning about how disturbing the footage was.  At first I sat unsure of how to process the image that was unfolding before me thousand of miles away. Then I did the only thing that I could do, I stood. Alone and in the middle of my office I stood up in quiet homage to a young woman who would never see another sun rise and then I wept.

I love words whether written, spoken or sung they have power. They can expand us with knowledge or debilitate us with emotion. The art of communication isn’t in the number of words used, as less wordage & fewer sentences often enables us to process the genuineness of character or content without clutter. Well informed people know that it is best to keep their answers brief and to the point. When you give a confident woman a compliment she merely smiles and says ‘thank-you’.

My respect for words leaves me with a dislike for anything that has a whiff of censorship. If you don’t like the words discard the book, leave the theater or change the channel.  It is in that context that I find myself in the surprising position of agreeing with Sarah Palin when she took offense to David Letterman’s recent joke. The content of that part of his monologue  left a bitter taste that even changing the channel didn’t erase. He has apologized and Palin accepted the apology in a 94 word statement in which she even managed to even make mention of the US military. Perhaps a short ‘I accept your apology’ would have been more appropriate and a little less opportunistic or better yet maybe a tweet would be good practice for the always wordy Ms. Palin.

The world of words has changed even in the short period of time since she ran for vice-president. Political protests are being covered in 140 characters, iconic newspapers no longer exist and this summer people will be enjoying there favorite beach book on devices like Kindle.

I had better end this post before I too am overly wordy or as a writer friend of mine emailed me this week while gathering research for an upcoming article ……….sometimes it is better to shut up, stop writing and listen.

Dare I say it but now that no one is commenting on her hair and clothes she looks great. Bold suits, chunky jewelry and the hair is just doing it’s own thing. She has found that she can play well with others and life is good all in all.

Yes, Hillary Clinton is a contented woman. History seems to have written itself in the right way, at least for now. We see her getting off airplanes in some foreign country ready for  whatever and whoever awaits her. Sometimes the reception is a chilly handshake, sometimes a two cheek kiss and I have even observed a few bear hugs when the person at the bottom of the stairs knows her. She is taking it all in stride and relishing every moment.

Ms. Clinton has paid her dues time and time again in the court of public opinion and now she is rewarded for her perseverance and dignity but it is more than that; her approval ratings are high and she is the right person for the job.

Where’s Bill these days? Last time I saw his name it was on the guest list for the Rachael Ray Show. And I’m not touching that one!

It is difficult these days not to see Elizabeth Edwards when we turn on the television. The interviewer is  reading an excerpt from her book “Resilience” with that tone of voice reserved for the sick person in hospital, asking gently worded questions and providing the viewer with a soapy interview.

I know she is the victim of an extra marital affair and I know that she is ill with breast cancer. I cannot nor do not judge how she handles these things. In these matters my affiliation is firmly with the ‘what goes on behind closed doors’ party.

What is perturbing is why she supported and campaigned for John Edwards to be President of the United States after he told her about the affair. Why, in spite of this knowledge did she sally forth, endorsing her husband as the right man for the job. Why did she cast herself as the loyal wife in the tableau of the wholesome American family?

By making the decision to submit herself and her family to this renewed public scrutiny, she should be accountable for that period in time. As Roger Simons asks in his article “Did Elizabeth Edwards want to get into the White House as badly as John Edwards did?”

I counter that with this question “Is Elizabeth Edwards again using the American public this time to garner book sales?”

Caryl Rivers in her Huffington Post article writes that she should be allowed to tell her story, to “have her say”. Funny that she has so much to say now but the truth was oddly silent during the ’08 Presidential campaign.

The time has come for change and to me Barack and Michelle Obama embody the 21st century’s Renaissance.  It is the natural order of the world that the days of baby boomer diplomacy and leadership are starting to come to an end. Some have said that President Obama is too cool, quips too much and is not reassuring enough. Actually his manner is saying that a head of state being a comforting and cardiganed Mr. Rogers type of leader or as seen more recently the secretive and John Wayne type is not only outdated but ineffectual.

This next generation of leaders has a technology enhanced worldview, logical pattern of thought and unemotional approach to the issues. Qualities that will enable them to clean out the dust and cobwebs of where we have failed and to modernize what is no longer working.

Barack and Michelle Obama are taking the world stage with their trademark quick intellect and unruffled elegance that make them stand out amongst their somewhat tired & frazzled counterparts.

Even Queen Elizabeth, who has been welcoming US presidents since Harry Truman, appeared warm and relaxed at the first meeting. When Michelle embraced the royal presence, instead of  roaring ‘off with her head’ she smiled, briefly reciprocated and apparently suggested that they “keep in touch”.

On a similar trip taken in 1961, John Kennedy said “I am the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris, and I have enjoyed it.” I think that at the end of this trip President Obama’s statement would be “I and Michelle have enjoyed our time here and I am glad that you like and admire my wife and partner as much as I do.”

The Obama’s day ended with a dinner at 10 Downing Street. this apparantly takes the form of the leaders in one dining room and the spouses in the other. I wonder if this is a throw back to Victorian society when the hostess said ‘Shall we leave the gentlemen to their cigars and port, ladies and go into the drawing room for tea” or merely protocol?  Whatever the reasoning I would have loved to heard what was being said at both dinner tables as they dined on Jamie Olivier’s menu of organic salmon and shoulder of lamb from Wales.

I have always been a person without borders; whether in my coaching, writing or blogging I believe that we are citizens of the world. So, from Canada I congratulate Barack Obama on becoming the 44th President of the United States.

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Martin Luther King, Jr

On November 4th, 2008 this dream came to be

It has been a fascinating year for politics, especially for women. From the coverage of the hands on presence of candidate’s wives, to the political expertise & pantsuits of Palin and Clinton; no matter what her role the American female puts herself out there even if it means becoming a source of ratings for Saturday Night Live.

Through the years the First Ladies have often been marginalized by the press and that includes their causes until history & time validates their efforts. After 9/11 Laura Bush turned the tables and used the media to increase her presence in order to help heal a wounded nation. She has become a voice on the international stage speaking out for Afghanistan to bring focus to the challenges facing the people, particularly the women and children. This year she surprised many by supporting Burma as it struggles to be free of a regime’s tyranny.  It will be interesting to witness the historical imprint that Michelle Obama will make on the White House and the multi-dimensional position of first lady.

Here in Canada headlines are reading very differently. As illustrated with Julie Smyth’s article in the October 15th edition of  the National Post, entitled “Leaders spouses stay out of the spotlight”. Chatelaine’s December edition offers “Why Politics is Still a Man’s Job” by Rebecca Caldwell and the Editor, Maryam Sanati writes in her monthly letter “On the world list of female representation in politics Canada is 50 spots behind Rwanda”.

Candidate’s wives in Canada need to do more. They can speak to and meet with the people in smaller venues and in particular listen to the women. Instead of merely being a prop for the smile and wave photo ops, they can be a functioning presence on the campaign trail; gaining insight into the grassroots issues through discussions that their husbands are unable to have. If she chooses, the Prime Minister’s wife, Laureen Harper is in a truly enviable position to make a difference. She seems like an empathic and intelligent woman but we only get glimpses of her emerging from 24 Sussex Drive to attend some obligatory charity event. While giving one’s name & presence to a cause is important it is only touches on what she could accomplish.

No matter how we chose to participate it is time for Canadian women on all levels to not only bring home the bacon and fry it up in the pan but also have a say in how it should be raised, slaughtered, delivered to the store and priced. It is time to stop being on the sidelines.