Random.

Sorry for not being around, I've been distracted lately but I promise I'll have some good stuff up soon! For now, I just wanted to post this comment I made on my Canadian Political Science class blog.

It's totally dorky but this is the original post:

Where did all the charisma go?

Many Canadians in the past year have watched CCN with envy, admiring the fiery political ambition and expressive, powerful speeches of Barack Obama. Our own Canadian election failed to inspire much love for politics. Obamania was cool. Hapermania didn’t exist. It seems that Canadian politicians lack the charisma which Obama seems to embody. So who were Canada’s charismatic leaders?
In “Obama, Trudeau, and the consequences of charisma,” Sibley compares two great leaders – one who has already created his legacy in Canada, and another who has a future to shape in the United States. http://communities.canada.com/ottawacitizen/blogs/ideas/archive/2008/07/26/obama-trudeau-and-the-consequences-of-charisma.aspx
Max Weber defined charisma as “a certain quality in an individual personality by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities.” Canada’s leaders arguably lack charisma. Why is there a lack of charismatic leadership? Is it the fault of Canadians, who are afraid to take a risk and elect someone exciting? Are there any rising political stars who signal an end to the era of dull politicians?
- Laura Munn-Rivard

And this is my reply:

The lack of charismatic candidates isn't the fault of the Canadian populous; it is the fault of the party members who elect the person to lead their party. Canadians get to know this person but in the end, many feel there may have been a better candidate somewhere in the party’s arsenal.

The reason why American politics have been getting the attention of the entire world is partly due to the infighting and the displaying of the candidate who wants ‘it’ (being the presidency) most. Of course, America did have a young, inexperienced, half African-American, junior senator from Illinois Barack Obama running against a familiar name and wife of a then-popular president, Hillary Clinton (her husband being the 42nd POTUS, President Bill Clinton). Obama being the ‘underdog’ was a huge understatement, but as our neighbors to the south say, “Only in America.”

I don’t know of any ‘rising stars’ in Canadian politics but I’m sure there’s a handful out there. If Canadians had a choice to pick the leader of their party out of all possible candidates, election season just might be a tad more interesting. And it helps if our media had people such as Anderson Cooper of CNN or Keith Olbermann of MSNBC – now that would catch the attention of the Canadian people (if not them, then me anyway).

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I'll promise to be back soon! Ciao!

- Franny.