Not quite as good as the cowboy pic, but maybe worth keeping.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, centre, walks out of a building after participating in a fire scenario at the Toronto Fire Department Training Centre, Friday. (CP Photo/Aaron Harris)

http://torontosun.com/News/2006/08/25/1776248.html

I was half hoping that nobody would comment on that story because my beau (as a fairly senior and all around well-respected Toronto fire captain) had to take part in that event at which Harper was involved yesterday. He is often called upon to participate in TFS promo stuff and he enjoys doing it when it is geared to the public and fire awareness (as it usually is) but he dislikes it when it involves politics like this one did, and he hates it when it's both political and geared towards boosting conservatives, like this one was. Unfortunately, he doesn't get any say about the content.

I wasn't there (for obvious reasons) but he regretfully informs me that Harper actually did a pretty good job even though he was not able to put out the test car fire. He says that Harper was stronger, more savvy, and more physically capable than he expected him to be. Ugh. Double ugh. Triple ugh.

On the up side, if there is one, Hillary Clinton is scheduled to come by on Monday to deliver a speech at the convention. I won't be able to ditch work to watch in person and my beau won't likely be there as he's scheduled for vacation all next week, but hopefully, Ms. Clinton's appearance will take some of the fake sheen off of whatever glow Harper got from his visit to the fire academy and the accompanying photo ops.


Grrr.

Edit typo.

He's much daintier in it.

But he couldn't go to the AIDS conference.