Paul Martin is now the Prime Minister of Canada. He took the oath of office and swore in his cabinet yesterday afternoon. I don't know enough about politics to comment on the winners or the losers, and I have several blogging neighbours who can do a much better job, but I do like Martin's focus on bringing about a new deal for the cities. Signing Mike Harcourt as a special advisor on the topic suggests that he's maintaining his focus and (gasp!) something might actually get done. The proponents of the 3M Alliance (waves at Brett) should still be happy. I am. If Martin can make his new deal work, he'll have his legacy.
For all of our speculations on Paul Martin's tumultuous future, here are some nice things about him. Dan and I were talking about him and he pointed out that, though Paul Martin might be rather conservative, his approach is truly conservative -- more than what Harper or Harris can claim. As finance minister, Martin's first priority was always to balance the books, and then see what can be done with the money that remained. Certainly a far more sensible approach than cutting taxes first and then trying to balance the budget, or raising spending first. It was, after all, the approach of Tommy Douglas, who made sure his finances were in order before he embarked on his landmark health care plan.
Martin also appears to be loosening up. His tearful "oh, hell!" when he tried to answer a question about his late father was the most emotion we've seen from this guy on camera in years. Others have noticed how comfortable Martin appears now that the campaign is over. It's strange that governing should be seen by the man as less stressful than campaigning for it.
Well, provincially, federally and municipally, we are entering a new era. Time will tell how things turn out. As Jean Chretien once said, fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride.
I enjoy waking up at my normal time (well, not that I have much choice. Gus, our cat, gets his Fancy Feast every day when the clock radio goes off, and he has no concept of weekends. Turning off the alarm clock only delays his wake-up call by a half-hour, at most -- so, maybe "enjoy" isn't the operative word, here), and sitting at my computer, working away while Erin sleeps in. It's probably the sense that you're watching the world wake up. This late in the season, I actually see the sun rise, and that's special.
On weekdays, when we're rushing to get up, I grind the coffee and make a pot of espresso on the stove. Today, I made a perculator pot on our coffee maker. So, to me, making coffee is more about grinding coffee, setting up the espresso maker and putting it oon the stove. It's less about letting the pot percolate, then pouring myself a cup and adding milk.
Today, I got an object lesson of how dangerous sleepiness and being a creature of habit is when combined when, thinking I was making coffee, after setting up the percolator, I took the milk out of the refrigerator and tried to "grind" it.
I'm up. Really I am. :-)