Those of us who follow international politics – and by that I mean the domestic politics of various nations – are aware of three things: 1) The rest of the world views the United States – still – as some alien land; 2) Contrary to that, American politics can be quite surprisingly tame compared to what happens abroad; and 3) Our punditry is in serious need of a decent sense of humor (except for Jonah Goldberg).
Numbers two and three were once again confirmed by the man who in my opinion is undoubtedly the best political columnist the world has ever seen: Paul Wells, previous of the National Post and now with Macleans. His latest – on the events of the past month in Canadian politics – is a must read for anyone who needs some perspective, or a few laughs.
Among the highlights of the first column to make me laugh so hard I was in tears since . . . well, since a previous Wells’ column:
MP Larry Miller mentioned supporters of the long-gun registry in the same breath as Hitler, then apologized, then un-apologized, then un-apologized some more. Basically, he’s glad he said it but sorry you heard it. You know who else had a hard time apologizing? Hitler. Sorry. Sort of.
. . .
He’s always a pleasant fellow, unless you ask him a question in the House of Commons and he suggests your choice is to “stand with us or with the child pornographers.” Which he did on the day before Valentine’s Day.
It was not obvious, up to that point, that we would soon look back on the first half of February with a tinge of nostalgia for lost innocence.
. . .
By now the only thing missing to make this the best month ever was allegations of widespread election fraud. And here they are! Right on schedule.
. . .
Needless to say, MPs from every party set about investigating these grave allegations in a serious, non-partisan fashion. Just kidding! Of course they fell on one another like hyenas.
. . .
Well. I suppose it is possible to establish a hierarchy of yuckiness in all this. On a scale of “zero” to “makes me wanna barf,” . . .
. . . outrage alone won’t solve a thing, but if we cannot muster any we are lost. Just like too many of these people.
Read the whole thing, and lament that we have no one this talented in the United States.
Cross-posted to the right-wing liberal
