Dec. 15, 2006: Hatchet

There is no incentive large enough to entice me to take on this thankless job of MP or Minister, whatever the salary and perqs, especially when the media are so negative. I have heard almost nothing positive about Min. Ambrose or Min. MacKay. Surely, there must be some positives. Is the reality so unrelentingly negative concerning this government? Or is that they are attempting to change the culture of entitlement, of corruption, of MSM complicity ... that served the last government so well ... while moving forward. It is an onerous job.

Don Martin's predictions on who are likely to fall prey to cabinet shuffle , Dec. 15, 2006, NatPost

www.canada.com/nationalpost/columnists/story.ht
ml?id=70cc8602-1796-4194-b28e-c6c6acc75a6a

[....Ambrose] unable [to] meet expectations she'd be a political rock star rising in the West.

Whose expectations? I don't want a 'star'. Reports from some who would know are that she can be very impressive in action. However, the networks and activists have been put in place to bury her. Remember the international conference Min. Ambrose attended on Kyoto and the rudeness toward her? Look into the businesses just waiting to get rid of her and her government ... to bring back the ones who keep them ... in whatever it is they would like to be doing.

... uneven performance ... intensely meddlesome Prime Minister's Office, which imposed strict mind control against the pragmatic ideas Ms. Ambrose has often discussed with me during casual conversation.

Would it not be a journalistic coup to report the ideas, then, since others don't?

.... If the media continues its campaign to have Rona Ambrose fired, the Prime Minister will do precisely the opposite. Mr. Harper would rather stick with a ministerial liability than bow to the collective wisdom of despised pundits.

Negative re: PM Harper. I have heard that he is very good, that he knows what he is doing. Is this negativity news or creativity? Which disgruntled people do journalists talk with? Some who want to return to ... the way it was, I hear.

[....] There are other weak links in Mr. Harper's chain of command, ministers who have proven themselves shuffle-worthy after 10 months on the job. They are:

Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay: [....]

ideally suited to Intergovernmental Affairs [....]

Cold and crusty Mr. O'Connor [....] the real fight is to win over public opinion back home.

Who cares about his personality if he does the job and if journalists would interview, investigate and report in a balanced way what the military is doing--and it is worth finding out--instead of telling readers that the minister is a negative.

International Development Minister Josee Verner ... [to] promote the reconstruction effort .... a major lightweight.

Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn [....]

First, journalists could be honest about their part in the proliferation of negative news about any of the ministers. Think about whether they contribute to the silly reporting (doggygate, for example) instead of adding to Canadians' knowledge of the important events or analyses of what departments are trying to accomplish.

Journalists should investigate why Min. Verner might move cautiously; the International Development department has to be certain it is on the right track now. Remember the CIDA/Afghanistan story? CIDA wasn't revealing too much ... another fifth column put in place previously to obfuscate and refuse to reveal. Start digging. There is plenty to learn.

If so many journalists hadn't been so used to getting their Pravda Propaganda talking points, point of view, news bites/bytes via friends in the former PMO ... There must be another side to the story. Martin's header? "Bets are in that Ambrose is on way out".

I wouldn't talk to most of these journalists, nor explain, if this is how they write about members of my team ... or have I missed all the analytical items written? I would let the people decide.