Still a compelling force

Sitting on the verandah of the golf club on Sunday for Father's Day, I spotted a familiar sight walking purposefully toward our table. It was Jean Chretien. As he passed I said, "Prime Minister, lovely to see you." He stopped and came over. "Yes, Madame, lovely to see you too," as he stretched out his hand. I had never met the man, but ever the politician, he acted as if we were old friends. He chatted with us for a few minutes and then joined his table. The guy still has it. There is something about Chretien that immediately puts you at ease; he always seems in control of any situation. Remember his media interviews and scrums? "Well, you know, we have always had this or that and it's no problem, it's normal......"....even if he were speaking about nuclear war. Everything was normal, under control, run-of-the-mill. He sat with a group of men I knew were all arch conservatives -- consultants and media commentators. Yet there he was, King Liberal, his recognizable voice rising above the others. Politics still makes strange bedfellows.

The other PM we see from time to time turns up at the tennis club, where his kids are members. But Stephen Harper is not the charmer Jean is. In fact, Harper's presence is usually annoying because his security detail is all over the place, while Chretien's sits out of the way, in the parking lot under a shade tree.

Ottawa produces lots of random surprises like that.