Pubdate: Sat, 13 May 2006
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2006 The Toronto Star
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Author: Thomas Walkom

DO WE REALLY NEED TO HEAR ALL ABOUT IT?

It's hard to know what to make of Health Minister George Smitherman's 
front-page revelations that he was once addicted to unspecified illegal drugs.

At one level, this is a so-what story. To the general public, what 
Smitherman does now as health minister is considerably more important 
than the fact that he once snorted coke -- or whatever it was he used 
to ingest.

It would be more impressive if, for instance, the health minister put 
his efforts toward solving the crisis in long-term care homes, which 
are still desperately short of cash and staff.

Faithful readers will remember that the last time Smitherman made a 
personal revelation, back in 2003, was in response to a Star series 
on the problems of nursing homes.

At the time, a tearful Smitherman said nursing homes would be his top 
priority. He said his mother faced the prospect of going into a 
nursing home and that this was what moved him so much.

"I want to bring a sense of missionary zeal to the work we do in this 
office," he said then, tears streaming down his face. "We will fix this."

Indeed, the government did increase regulation in nursing homes. But 
it didn't give them enough new money to pay for the staff needed to 
make these reforms work.

As a result, many long-term care residents -- particularly those who 
are bedridden -- are now worse off than they were before.

Similarly, in this instance, it might be more useful if Smitherman 
spent less time on his personal life and more on the current problem 
of drug addiction in Ontario.

As the Star has reported, the Liberal government is busy closing 
detox centres in Toronto to save money -- even as the minister waxes 
eloquent about his misspent past.

Some would argue that Smitherman's decision to come clean might 
inspire other drug users to kick the habit. That might well be true.

But at the same time, it is hard to escape the nagging suspicion that 
politicians are using personal self-revelations to disguise their 
actions, or lack thereof.

Former prime minister Paul Martin was a master at this. Every time he 
prepared to cut spending for the unemployed or the poor or the sick, 
he liked to talk publicly, in very personal terms, about how much he 
valued these programs -- particularly those set up when his late 
father was in government.

In 1994, as the then-finance minister prepared to make massive cuts 
to social spending, the Star ran a front page story explaining that 
the idea pained him so much he couldn't sleep.

"I can hear him tossing and turning and saying 'Oh God, I don't know 
what I'm going to do,'" Martin's wife, Sheila, said during a joint interview.

But Martin still made the cuts.

There's nothing new about politicians trying to portray themselves as 
human beings. From Teddy Roosevelt on, this has been a staple of 
American politics. Canadians have been a little more restrained -- 
but not much.

When former prime minister Pierre Trudeau was in electoral trouble, 
his handlers would produce his then wife, Margaret, to explain how 
loving he was.

The only difference these days -- call it the Oprah effect -- is that 
politicians are now talking more about matters that were once 
considered, correctly, to be no one else's business.

The storyline that goes over particularly well is that of the 
redeemed sinner -- the lost lamb who through perseverance, luck and 
love finds his way again.

Some trying to tell this story have bombed (think of former U.S. 
president Jimmy Carter's admission that he once committed adultery in 
his heart).

Others, such as former wastrel George W. Bush, have used the Oprah 
effect to great political advantage.

The complicit partners in all of this are the media, which revel in 
stories that detail the foibles of celebrities, and the public, which 
lap them up.

So perhaps it's unfair to criticize Smitherman too much. His 
admissions can be viewed as an attempt to fill a seemingly insatiable demand.

Still, it's hard not to escape the feeling that enough is enough. 
Perhaps it is time for politicians to keep the few remaining intimate 
details of their existence safely stored away. I feel I already know 
far too much about George Smitherman's private life. I hope not to 
learn any more.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman