A Blogger as Prime Minister?

Yep. A television show is looking for young people - bloggers even - to register for the Political version of Canadian Idol, and yes, I have identified a few people whom I think should try out for this, assuming it’s not a joke.

I always thought that Magna International’s As Prime Minister contest was some sort of method by which Belinda Stronach obtained her talking points, and now it seems as though it’s morphed into a televised form:

From Yahoo!

TORONTO (CP) - Producers of a one-hour television special titled The Next Great Prime Minister are asking potential candidates to submit short videos explaining how they would make Canada “a better, stronger and more prosperous country.”

Five people will be chosen for the show, and they’ll compete for a $50,000 first-place prize, with the four runners-up receiving $10,000 apiece. They’ll also receive an internship with sponsor Magna International Inc.

Producer John LaRose of Summerhill Entertainment says it’s not a political version of Canadian Idol.

. . .

The videos are to be three to five minutes long, and the entry deadline is Aug. 15. The contest is open to candidates who were aged 18 to 29 on June 1, 2005.

Pfff. Yeah right. Does anyone remember that old show on the CBC called Political Animal?

This is a joke, right? The website that’s cited in the press release isn’t even up yet, which goes to show just how organized this project is.

Jim Elve points out that bloggers might make good candidates and he has already nominated Mike Brock as a potential contender. However, this guy has allowed his personal life to pretty much derail his blog altogether. Well, not really, but you get my drift. How’s a person going to run the country if they can’t . . .

I just have a few nominees whom I think should try out. They are:

Jay Jardine. He has some interesting thoughts on elections, after all.

MKBraaten. Yeah, I think my brother secretly wants to be PM. Just like his hero, Stephen Harper.

Jarrett Plonka. He’s also known as the Grumpy Tory Student, and if you don’t agree with what he stands for, at least you know what he stands for, as evidenced by how well he categorizes any of his positions, by topic, on his blog.

The Herbinator. He might be over the age limit arbitrarily set by the producers, but he has some cool ideas. I think he should try out and make a stink if they tell him he’s too old.

Steve Smith. Like Mike Brock, his blogging has been light lately. However, that’s because he’s a busy guy (Mike probably is too). But Mr. Smith knows politics. He’s the newest Business manager at the Gateway Newspaper, and I think he’s quite knowledgeable when it comes to matters such as this.

Kate. She could pass for 29.

Daveberta. He should totally try out, and wear a cowboy hat to contrast with his liberal stance on politics. That would throw the Torontonians into a fit of cognitive dissonance. Wha? But your cowboy hat means you are an inbred, gap-toothed, slack-jawed yokel who wants to privatize everything!

Gretchen Ross. I wonder if that’s her real name, or if it’s a reference to the movie, Donnie Darko. Anyway, she’d be a contendah.

Tara Cool. She’s working on a grad degree in political science, and judging just from her blog, it shows.

Rob Furs. If he were ever PM, the US would be just choked. It would make for interesting international relations. Maybe he should try out for the Canadian - US Ambassadorship instead.