It's Over...

Spain, after a very tough match with extra time, beat the Netherlands 1-0.  Again, I was in a café when they finished the regular timed game, but I decided to head to a computer to see what would come up on the FIFA web site.  The problem was I was watching the game with a crowd that was predominantly for the Spaniards (it was the Latin Quarter) and I was worried about possible shots to the face if I cheered a possible Dutch win.  Well, no problem there...

In a way, I am glad that I don't have to follow the beautiful game for another four years.  And it was a great tournament.  The one thing about the World Cup is that it really does bring people together.  I looked around that café and noted that the people cheering for Spain could not all have been Spanish.  I live in a French province with large groups of Arabic, Spanish, Hindi, English and the like in this city.  So, there was a space for all of us.

Until 2014...

The Sell Out (Part 8)

"My judgement, as of now, is that I am the best." - Pierre Elliot Trudeau

Just watching clips of the former prime minister of Canada on the CBC archives and I wonder about politics and the necessity of selling out.  With any leader, there will be moments when they have to give up former positions and beliefs in order to survive.  Trudeau, more than any other Canadian politician in the last fifty years, was able to shift with the political winds and spar with the opposing parties, media, and his own conscience.

I should also say that I am reading the second half of John English's biography of Pierre Trudeau (appropriately enough, the title is "Just Watch Me" ) and I still marvel at what the man was able to do in our particular hemisphere.  Would I draw a parallel with any other leader?  Yes, I think that it is apropos: Barack Obama.  A charismatic politician with little experience on the national level is suddenly thrust into the glare of the media and public opinion.  He is popular, but that popularity becomes sorely tested by the realities of the job. 

And whenever these types of leaders leave office, there is always a favorable reassessment.  Not bad for a couple of sell outs...