Haught vs. Naught

Hotz n Rice have "Kenny vs. Spenny", Jane Taber's got her "Hot and Not" list, well now so do I.

I bring to you, the first weekly installment of ...

Hatrock's Haught vs. Naught
(Where the 'gh' is silent.)

With the 39th parliament underway, Ralph Klein getting dumped and finally saying goodbye earlier than expected but still later than wanted, coupled with the LibLead race screaming for attention, there's lots to compare. So here we goooo...

Haught - Prime Minister Stephen Harper. While he should take girth advice from the size his own Throne Speech, coming in at 24 minutes, almost half of Paul Martin's second one, was laid with specifics, ones we've heard a zillion times from the campaign but not riddled with dithering platitudes. That speech, coupled with his first zinging performance as Prime Minister in question period, "Mr. Speaker, I assure the member that I've never been acused of seducing anyone, let alone my own wife." Now with polls showing an 18 point lead at 41% and high approval ratings, Harper is the haughtest.

Haught - Governor General Michaelle Jean. Well, she's hot! The Queen's rep looked fantastic, dignified, classy, yet hip.

Haught - Jim Prentice. Oooh. He gets to sit in the front row. And next to the Prime Minister. Seriously though, he appears to be taking his Indian Affairs job, well, seriously.

Haught - Preston Manning. Maybe he's luke warm, but his well received speech to the Alberta PC convention last Saturday paved the way for speculation and an answer from the old Reform leader hinting at a possible run at the premiership. Polls already have him leading the pack.

Naught - The federal Liberal Opposition. With no credibility on anything, their lobbed-ball questions to the Harper cabinet have the fresh ministers hammering home runs. But instead of baseballs, the libs are using eggs, but the yoke is on them. And trying to keep track of who's running.

Naught - Ralph Klein. Despite riding high in approval ratings for years and winning a fourth mandate from Albertans, the PC party gives him a low rating and basically dumps the humpty dumpty premier. "Disappointed" by the 55% number, Klein ("Don't call me Ralph anymore") goes back to the future and will step down earlier than he planned in the past. Question is whether his "third way" of health care reform will go through.

Naught - The Alberta PC Party. While it could've been a win-win situation, the gloves came off and a bright orange blood was spilled all over the convention floor. With the party divided into several camps, no vision for the future and what to do with the big surpluses, a lame duck leader, no membership, and a potential leader who wants to play in the crowded tree fort without knowing the secret password, you wonder if this is it for the 35 year reign of this part. However, despite all this, all the other provincial parties are still worse off.

So that's it for this week. If you want to read more on the specifics of the LibLead "race", you all know that The Calgary Grit has the best lo-down.