Sunday, October 27, 2013

Gerry's Winner and Loser of the Week

Pretty easy selection this week:

Winner: News Media

The stunning testimonies offered up this past week in the Senate by the infamous “Gang of Three” – Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin and Patrick Brazeau – provided the news media with what it really and truly lives for: great theatre. And the testimonies were indeed high drama at its best.  One part tragedy, one part farce, the narrative flowing from the never-ending Senate scandals showcased complex characters, bizarre plot twists and intriguing motivations, all spiced up with dark themes of revenge, greed and hubris. Compared to what happened in the Senate, Macbeth looks like a kindergarten play. At any rate, for the media, who are essentially story tellers at heart, it was a captivating, compelling and exhilarating performance for the ages, a performance which will inspire their reporting for years to come. Certainly, it beats writing about the economic impact of cheese quotas.

Loser: The Senate: 

Since Canadians have traditionally held such a low opinion of the Senate, I used to think there was nothing our Senators could do to tarnish their image even further. This week they proved me wrong.   

1 comment:

Gordie Canuk said...

You left out Prime Minister Harper, although to be fair I think detractors are anticipating more damage than may actually occur in terms of the results after the next election. That's not to say there hasn't been damage...after riding to power partly on promises to be more open, accountable and accessible...The biggest loser may be in our democracy as more and more Canadians become convinced that the entire instrument of government is broken.