Canada’s Debate

So there was a cabinet shuffle this week… A few high profile members moved around, and a few quieter ones came and went. The big news of Harpers minority two-step was the banishment of O’Connor to the Ministry of Keeping Your Mouth Shut and wounded-Pete being installed as Minister of Defense. Most writers and bloggers have suggested that McKay was installed to raise the profile of the Afghan mission and put a better face on it.

After watching Harper run things (and make no mistakes, he’s running things) for the past couple of years it’s clear to me that the opposite is true. McKay hasn’t really accomplished anything in the last three years except look good for the camera and get swindled by people who are more clever than him (Stronach, Harper, Danny Williams, Condi…) In each case though, he looks good, as he’s taking a beating. The press gives him a sort of “Aw shucks” treatment usually reserved for dogs and precocious white children.

It’s pretty clear to me that McKay is taking over because he doesn’t make waves. Harper wants people to forget about Afghanistan, not appreciate it; and McKay does one thing and one thing well: he avoids the tough questions while staying in the spotlight. Most Canadians know about the casualties coming back from Afghanistan, but those can be tolerated so long as the mission seems “just.” Every time O’Connor opened his mouth that illusion vanished… With McKay in charge Canadians will keep on dying, but they’ll die quietly and the subject will be ignored in Parliamentary reporting.