The wife was playing the video from Justin Trudeau the other day. She likes him. Just because he also sent it to thousands of other Liberals does not diminish the fact that he thanked her for her support. Betcha Stephen Harper rarely thanks Conservatives for their $5 to $10 financial support. He would certainly never do it in short pants.
Can you even imagine the Prime Minister in a t-shirt? Without the stiffly buttoned suit jacket, his gut probably hangs over his belt. And if he is not wearing his carefully coifed hair, nobody would recognize him!
But Justin can really carry off the casual look. The guy’s a natural. You sure hope that nobody tries to talk him into having a voice coach. He does not need to be perfect. He needs a bit of roughness around the edges. He is someone you feel you can trust. And how often have you seen that in a politician?
During the leadership debate in Winnipeg earlier this year, some people criticized Justin for taking off his suit jacket and tie while they were waiting for the event to get going. It showed him to be young and brash and free-wheeling and earned him another 10,000 votes. And you should not compare that brashness to his father’s persona. Pierre Trudeau would do a diving exhibition in the hotel pool as his way of giving the media the finger. He really did not like the media.
Justin recognizes that he needs the media. He puts up with their demanding attitudes as a trade-off for reaching Canadians. He just does not use them the way Stephen Harper does. Justin is not as cynical. He does not have to be adversarial.
Someone suggested the other day that Justin is like the guy next door. You wish. How many of us have a millionaire living next door who wears short pants. And how many can be as friendly as Justin, have a drop-dead gorgeous wife and two adorable kids. You would be embarrassed to go over and borrow a cup of sugar.
There is no doubt that Justin is seriously worrying the Conservatives. The current attack ads are bouncing off him and polls are now showing a clear trend to Trudeau, not from the New Democrats but from the shallow end of the Conservative pool. Harper is going is going to have to change his strategy.
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Copyright 2013 © Peter Lowry
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