Outside the Trail:
What do Kathleen Wynne, Tim Hudak and Andrea Horwath watch, read and listen to when not on the campaign trail?
What the aspiring premiers like to read, watch, listen to,
Remember when John McCain was running for U.S. president and the hardnosed maverick declared his undying devotion to ABBA?
A politician’s entertainment tastes can be revealing. I once asked Stephen Harper to name his favourite TV show. The response: Seinfeld. The man with all the power was partial to a show about nothing. Another time, as we sat in his kitchen, Julian Fantino talked about how he was constantly inspired by Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.” He used it to recharge.
So with the provincial election just days away, and polls suggesting the race is too close to call, let’s forget politics.
With the provincial election just days away, and polls suggesting the race is too close to call, let’s forget politics
We’ve heard the promises. But what do these aspiring premiers — Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne, Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath — do when there are no promises to keep?
What do they watch, read and listen to when liberated from the campaign trail? How do they relax when freed from the grind of photo ops with terrified babies and stump speeches to weary bases?
The three leaders were kind enough to share their favourite songs, bands, movies, TV shows, plays and books. In the interest of democracy, I shall now analyze their choices and declare a winner in each category.
POLL: FAVOURITE SINGER/BAND Wynne: The Traveling Wilburys Hudak: Talking Heads and The Smiths Horwath: Leonard Cohen Analysis: Great. Now I’m picturing Hudak in high school. He’s dressed in black and standing outside in the smoking area. He slides a cassette into his Walkman, cranks up “What Difference Does It Make?” and decides to skip math class. Hang on. Now I’m seeing Wynne. She’s out for a run, which is an effective way to stop your hands from drawing invisible squares, as she kept doing during Tuesday’s debate. She’s listening to “Handle with Care” and thinking, “I love that nobody in this ’80s supergroup was named Dalton.” Look. Over there. It’s Horwath. She’s curled up on a futon, eyes closed, mouthing the words to “Hallelujah” and getting ready to trigger an election . . . So the second vote goes to: Wynne POLL: FAVOURITE TV SHOW Wynne: Modern Family Hudak: Game of Thrones Horwath: Breaking Bad Analysis: A slow clap for all three leaders. These are great choices. The question becomes: which of these shows attract viewers who might make the best political leaders? A mockumentary-style sitcom about contemporary kinship? A sweeping fantasy about allegiance and venality and crime and punishment? A dark drama about fate and circumstance and the consequences of bad decisions? Never mind. Hudak loves Game of Thrones. This is a revelation. I just assumed his favourite show was The O’Reilly Factor. Hudak even told me the buildup to last week’s episode was “only slightly less exciting than the buildup to the election.” We know how Breaking Bad ends . . . So the third vote goes to: Hudak POLL: FAVOURITE SONG Wynne: “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong Hudak: “Werewolves of London” by Warren Zevon Horwath: “First We Take Manhattan” by Leonard Cohen Analysis: “What a Wonderful World” is a song of eternal hope, a lyrical nod to all that is good. Alas, when you get past the trees of green and red roses too, it’s also a song of inertia. If everything is so wonderful, there’s no reason to make the world a better place. “Werewolves of London,” meanwhile, is just weird. Do we really want a premier who might accidentally belt out, “I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic’s” before howling at an agricultural summit? I still don’t know what “First We Take Manhattan” is about. Love? Communism? But it’s written by a Canadian legend and seems full of symbolic intent . . . So the first vote goes to: Horwath POLL: FAVOURITE MOVIE Wynne: The Sound of Music and It’s a Wonderful Life Hudak: The Usual Suspects Horwath: The Grand Seduction Analysis: I know what you’re thinking: What is The Grand Seduction? I was thinking the same thing. A Google search reveals that Horwath’s favourite film, directed by Don McKellar, was released a few days ago. Huh? It’s as if someone asked you to name your favourite meal of all time and you rattled off what you had for breakfast that morning. So Horwath is out. And since Wynne’s platform here is perfectly fine but achingly predictable, I was going to give this cultural riding to Hudak. Then I remembered a line from The Usual Suspects and got a chill: “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” Is Keyser Soze . . . Mike Harris? So the fourth vote goes to: Wynne POLL: FAVOURITE PLAY Wynne: Anything by George Bernard Shaw Hudak: Soulpepper’s production of Glengarry Glen Ross Horwath: The Book of Mormon Analysis: I don’t know what Mr. Shaw would make of the Liberals if he were alive and living in Ontario. My guess is he’d be conflicted: aghast at the gas plants scandal but willing to separate Wynne from such imbroglios. Speaking of which, through Tory eyes, David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross could be an allegory for Liberal corruption. The boldest pick comes from Horwath. While a scathing religious satire won’t earn kudos from the faithful, it suggests she has strong opinions and, right or wrong, a generous sense of the absurd . . . So the fifth vote goes to: Horwath POLL: FAVOURITE BOOK Wynne: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Hudak: The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe Horwath: The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence Analysis: I was forced to read Pride and Prejudice in school and, sweet book of manners, nearly jumped off the CN Tower. I voluntarily read The Stone Angel, mostly to see what the fuss was about. Blasphemy alert: I never did find an answer. While none of these books have much to say about transportation, education, employment or health care, this election smacks of early Wolfe. This is the problem with modern politics. When everyone is locked into an ideology, there is no common ground. When there is no common ground, there is no common sense. And when there is no common sense, there is no greater good. Everything gets torched by vanity . . . So the sixth vote goes to: Hudak
Now let’s tally the results. Sigh. It’s a three-way tie. Fearing this outcome, I also asked for personal mottos, which might provide some tiebreaking insight.
Wynne: “Be yourself.” Hudak: “Who dares, wins.” Horwath: “Never let them tell you it can’t be done.”
Fellow voters, it’s your turn to decide. vmenon@thestar.ca