Something Up With Which I Will Not Put

Former flame Belinda Stronach? She's a dog (granted, he's still in denial about that one).

Fellow Nova Scotian MP and former NDP leader Alexa McDonough? She should "stick to her knitting."

So, you ask, what does our quick-witted, silver-tongued Foreign Affairs Minister have to say about the Saddam Hussein verdict?

"I think it would be pre-emptive to be passing any judgments or making any firm public declarations," is what.

Now, is it just me, or does that response reek of "we're waiting to see what kind of response we can come up with that the Americans will like but that won't make Canadians gag"? Or maybe it's a stall, and we'll give a response after the American elections.

Perhaps I'm just a dogged knitter with my knickers in a twist, but it seems to me that we need a Foreign Minister who (a) understands why you're not supposed to make remarks that many, many, MANY people will find offensive, (b) can recognize that references to female politicians as either knitters or Setters are among those remarks, (c) is grown-up and professional enough to admit that s/he's messed up, without blaming it on his/her grandmother (the knitting remark) or denying it altogether despite evidence on tape and sworn affidavits to the contrary (the dog reference), and (d) is confident in his/her postition as the person who's supposed to know all about all the foreign stuff to comment on something pretty frickin major, foreign-wise.

There - I've said my piece, and I can get back to my plot to take over the country knitting.