I think it’s the news media who has asthma. They’re just not letting the real stories breathe.
The very positive story about the Harper transition team is choked-off amongst a gaseous cloud of Harper may be lying about asthma stories in the news media. But not to worry: Canada’s crack team of fair and balanced journalists who only care about Harper’s health are on it! The asthma I mean!
- Aides downplay story of Harper’s hospital visit
- Harper takes trip to hospital
- Harper illness prompts false asthma report
- Harper treated in Ottawa hospital
- Harper’s health under scrutiny
Meanwhile, real news, good news, un-Liberal-like news, a clear breath of fresh air, is already blowing out of Ottawa. You just have to find it. Let it breathe, as it were. Not choke it off amongst the liberal media**COUGH**hiding good news about Conservatives. Cough.
Harper transition team packed with non-partisans
OTTAWA — None of the people co-ordinating Stephen Harper’s transition to prime minister were involved in his election campaign, and none will be involved in running or lobbying his government.
Harper’s choice of transition team suggests the Conservative leader has learned from Paul Martin’s example that it’s a big mistake to rely on the same group of ultra-partisan advisers to run both campaigns and government, blurring the line between political and public interest.
In setting up his government, Harper appears to have recognized the value of independent advice from experienced people who have no personal stake in how the government is structured or staffed.
“Independence is an enormous advantage when you do these types of exercises,” said David Zussman, a public administration expert who headed Jean Chretien’s transition team in 1993.
“Then you can be working simply in the public interest all the time and there’s no other agenda.”
[…] By contrast, Martin relied heavily on a tight-knit inner circle of advisers for both political and governmental advice. His 2003 15-member transition team consisted of a number of lobbyists, including team head Michael Robinson, as well as a host of people who wound up as senior staffers in his Prime Minister’s Office.
Also on board was David Herle, a communications consultant who headed Martin’s leadership and subsequent election campaigns while simultaneously under contract to various government departments.
Martin has been heavily criticized, even by fellow Liberals, for blurring the line between his political objectives and the public interest. Many Liberals complain that the inner circle who helped him wrest the leadership from Jean Chretien did not have the temperament or skills to run the government.
“I’ve said many, many times that people who run the transition exercise shouldn’t go into government,” said Zussman. “To do it otherwise is almost to be in a conflict of interest.”
Folks, this was a story about how the new folks running the show in Ottawa are NOT being partisan and are NOT blurring the line between the governing party, and the government.
That funny smell you smell is HONESTY and ACCOUNTABILITY and INTEGRITY.
PTBC was founded by Mr. Johannesen in 2000.
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