Normally on the Saturday before Mother's Day, this space would be filled with a loving, sentimental ode to mothers everywhere.
Even the ones who stop at a red light and then drive through it with their offspring in the back seat, mothers deserve nothing less than our full admiration on Sunday. There ain't a pedestal high enough or enough bright flowers in the world for them all.
But, alas, it's Saturday, so Mom, you take a backseat today and Monday and especially Tuesday, because there's a provincial election on.
During elections, political parties and their leaders work hard to separate themselves from their competitors. For voters who don't follow politics until election time, it must look like the provincial Liberals and NDP have absolutely nothing in common.
Even for people who follow politics here and there, all they likely see and hear are the leaders and their supporters at the provincial and federal level criticizing, taking shots, running from one scandal to the next.
The reality is far less partisan and far less divisive.
Almost every party and every leader elected to office softens their stance and takes a more moderate position on almost every major issue.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the late Jack Layton, leader of the federal NDP, had many memorable battles in the House of Commons and during televised leadership debates. Yet when Harper gave a formal apology to Canada's First Nations for the plague of residential schools, he thanked Layton for pushing him to do the right thing.
During their exclusive interviews with The Citizen, Christy Clark and Adrian Dix seemed to give different answers when asked if they believed B.C. First Nations have veto rights over resource development plans in their traditional territories.
Clark answered quickly and precisely. She doesn't believe anyone has veto rights over land use in B.C. and then went on to give examples of how First Nations have successfully partnered with government and industry to foster economic growth through resource extraction. She then argued that the Liberals were the ones who could bring everyone together and get everyone to say yes, while the NDP were the ones saying no before the discussion even started.
Dix was asked the exact same question three different times in three different ways, dodging a straight answer each time. But that was the only substantive difference between his response and Clark's. He also talked about how the best scenario is when First Nations, government and industry work together, making sure local communities benefit from the proceeds of that success. Of course, he said the NDP under his leadership would be better than the last 12 years of Liberal mismanagement to make progress on this front.
During Wednesday's all-candidates forum, the candidates of Prince George-Mackenzie were combative and their exchanges were typical of what's seen in the legislature. The candidates of Prince George-Valemount, however, were cordial and their disagreements were intellectual and philosophical. Sherry Ogasawara and Shirley Bond may be political opponents but it's not hard imagining them being friends away from the election spotlight.
This is not to say that it doesn't matter who wins Tuesday's election or that it will be politics as usual. There are still numerous differences between the parties, the leaders and the candidates but those differences are not as black-and-white as they appear to the casual observer.
That's often why many people are disappointed with the politicians they vote for, because elected officials are responsible adults, for the most part, and responsible adults are open to new ideas, willing to change their minds from time to time, are able to work with others to solve complicate problems, even with people they disagree with, and, best of all, want to do the right thing.
Mom always tells us to do our best to get along with everyone and even politicians listen to their mothers.
