[pyritechips]

This is completely absurd! She was an inept Prime Minister and did absolutely nothing in the very brief time she was in office. If anything is remembered about her reign, it can be described as "ephemeral". She made the list only because she was the first female PM. That is stretching credulity.

Campbell among 'most important' leaders

Last Updated Sat, 10 Apr 2004 16:51:04

WASHINGTON - Although she was prime minister of Canada for less than five months, Kim Campbell has been ranked as one of history's 50 "most important political leaders" by the National Geographic Society.

Campbell, who led the country for 132 days back in 1993, was included for being Canada's first female prime minister, according to the Washington D.C.-based society.

She and her Progressive Conservatives went from having a majority government to holding only two seats after the November 1993 election. The former cabinet minister lost her own Vancouver seat.

Some other leaders on the list:

Bilqis, the Queen of Sheba (10th century B.C.)

Attila the Hun (ca 406-453)

Charlemagne (742-814)

Catherine the Great (1729-1796)

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)

Benazir Bhutto (1953- )

Campbell's name appears on the list of influential leaders alongside such historical giants as Alexander the Great, Cleopatra, Napoleon Bonaparte, Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill.

The society put two other Canadian prime ministers on the list in its new reference book called the Almanac of World History.

Sir John A. Macdonald is named for "expanding Canada's territory" and "building transcontinental railroads." William Lyon Mackenzie King got the nod for his 21 years in power and his wartime leadership.



Written by CBC News Online staff

[oldie]

Sure is a strange world

What about the likes of "Aung San Suu Ky" the Burmese lady ?

What about ex President of the Irish Republic "Mary Robinson" - Now the UNs High Commissioner for Human Rights ?

Strange world it is

Oldie

[plschwartz]

When I was in college I had a friend, an orthodox jew whose second most beloved book was the "Jewish encyclopedia of sports", which in addition to legitimate sports figures has every jew who ever had a major league appearence etc. He would often quote it to me, perhaps in an attempt to re-convert me.

I am reminded of this when I see some of the rather pathetic attempts to re-configure history to suggest that woman and blacks have done things worthy of the center ring. The fact sad or not is that until recently big-time things were done by white men. I am happy that this is changed but see no benefit in the attempt to re-write history. It is a PC assumption that a role model has to be your sex/color/religion. Even my orthodox friend, a brooklynite shared with me an idolization of the goyishe Brooklyn Dodgers especially my beloved Gil Hodges (who should be in the hall of fame)

[houseworksux]

Kim Campbell was an embarrassment to Canadians, and women!
She and Sheila Copp set the Kanuck gals and government back quite a few steps. Silly wenches!

[eggplant43]

I saw Kim Campbell on Bill Maher's show about a month ago, and liked her. I had no idea she was so unliked by her fellow countrymen/women until now.
Seems we're all doomed to revisionist history.

One could argue that white men's accomplishments were possible because of their climbing on the backs of women and people of color, as a matter of fact, that has often been argued. Oh well.................

[plschwartz]

EGGY:
don't disagree with you about how dwm got famous. But the assumption that heroic identification ( o rthe ability of another to fulfil a heroic archetype) needs match the subject in gender/color/religion has little basis. The fact that in the past even say animal spirits filled that need.
It never occurred to me to ask if Gil Hodges was circumsized
I think multiculturalsm is a force to devide not to elevate. It is a PC version of the same forces that push polarization in our politics.

[Tipacanoe]

Actually, Egg, Campbell is - as you saw on the Maher show - a very bright woman. Probably, an anachronism among conservatives. : - )

What the CDN jokers above don't tell you is that Campbell lost the election mainly because everyone knew what a crook her former boss, Mulroney, and his various cronies were. IE, she lost because they saddled her with the impossible task of overcoming Canadians' disgust with the conservative party's bankrupt and bankrupting political policies. Believe it, they haven't progressed much since then either - still a bunch of neofascist, racist, gay bashing, wedge issue morons. It was Campbell's misfortune to come along at a time when the electorate had had enough.

It's interesting to draw parallels to Paul Martin's current predicament, trying to live down and survive the policies of his party which, among other things, included a policy of overwhelming and expensive federal advertising to win enough votes in the Quebec referendum to prevent Quebec's secession.

Question is: Will he, like Campbell, crash and burn in the fires being set for him by the media in much the same way they were for Campbell in 1993. (I guess she did say some silly things at the time too, but nobody's perfect, right?)

[pyritechips]

What the CDN jokers above don't tell you is that Campbell lost the election mainly because everyone knew what a crook her former boss, Mulroney, and his various cronies were

Hope you're not calling me a joker. Drop the personal comments and stick to the facts.

You are correct in saying she was merely shark bait. Mulroney was one of the worse PM's only: a crook (as you said) and nothing much more than a Reagan butt-kisser. He didn't represent Canadian interests any more than the new conservative party does. If those unhappy with Martin/liberal rule want a new government they had better come up with a viable alternative.

As for Campbell's worth as a woman: this is entirely off the topic of the thread. My whole point is, the Society listed her among the world's all time great leaders merely for the fact that she was a woman and not for any accomplishments. What I question is the Society's criteria for selection to the list, and their credulity.

I think multiculturalsm is a force to devide not to elevate. It is a PC version of the same forces that push polarization in our politics.

Hmmm, I agree with plshcwartz! Who would have thought?

[Tipacanoe]

It would be helpful to know just what the NGS Almanac says exactly. The CBC reporting lacks specifics. I suppose there is some significance in her having been elected Conservative party leader. I agree that she never really had any chance to make her mark as PM. But without knowing exactly what the Almanac says, I will refrain from charging the list as being "absurd".

[pyritechips]

I will refrain from charging the list as being "absurd".

Not absurd, but I do question her being included.

[pyritechips]

Well, it seems the information isnn't online. It is part of a new reference book.

This is from this article (London Free Press): http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/London...11/416473.html

The American editor of the almanac said Campbell belongs in the pantheon of historical greats for the simple reason she was Canada's first female prime minister.

"Given that there have not been that many females who have led nations, we chose to include her," Jane Sunderland said from the society's headquarters in Washington.

She said she "stands by the choice" of the book's authors.

James Marsh, editor-in-chief of the Canadian Encyclopedia, differs.

"I don't think Kim Campbell should even make a list of great Canadian leaders," March said.

"She was the first and only (female) prime minister of Canada -- and that's stretching her accomplishments to the limit."

[plschwartz]

By that reasoning they certainly should have included Pope Joan on their list
(see http://www.dreamscape.com/morgana/popejoan.htm)

[lighthouse]

It does seem a bit strange - though not being Canadian I don't have a deep knowledge of Canadas Political history - but as an immediate response, isn't it a bit like putting Kajagoogoo in a list that includes the Clash and the Beatles?

[Tipacanoe]

To give Ms Campbell her due, her political accomplishments were not inconsiderable under the circumstances:

Political Career

* Constituencies: Vancouver Centre, British Columbia, 1988-1993.
* Minister of State for Indian and Northern Affairs, 1989-1990.
* First female Minister of Justice and Attorney General, 1990-1993.
o Criminal Code Amendment for firearms control, 1991.
+ Following the Montreal 'massacre' of student nurses in 1989, there was widespread public outcry for more restrictive gun laws.
o Criminal Code Amendment for sexual assault, 1992.
+ In 1983, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down a 'rape shield' law as unconstitutional. Campbell consulted with women's groups, law associations, and ministry officials before drafting a new law, Bill C-49.
+ Focus was placed on the principal of consent. The bill remained constitutional and still protected victims' rights.
+ Bill C-49 passed second reading in the House of Commons with a rare unanimous vote by all three federal parties.
* Minister of National Defence, 1993.
* Minister of Veterans Affairs, 1993.
* Progress Conservative Party Leader, June 13 - December 13, 1993.
o When Brian Mulroney announced his retirement, Campbell was encouraged to run for party leader. Her strongest competition was Jean Charest, whom she beat in a very close vote at the PC Leadership Convention in June. Kim Campbell became Canada's first female Prime Minister.

Did You Know?

During the 1993 election, Kim Campbell hired an American advertising company to create a commercial for her campaign. The commercial, which mocked Jean Chrétien's facial disablility (paralysis on one side), was not well received in Canada.
* Unfortunately for Kim, the Conservative mandate to govern had expired and she was obliged to call an election for October, 1993. Nine years of dissatisfaction for the Conservatives, in which Canadians found themselves suddenly saddled with NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), the Goods and Service Tax (GST), constitutional fiascos and a serious recession, were simply too much for Kim to overcome and the Conservatives suffered an extraordinary and unprecedented defeat in which Conservative seats in the House of Commons was reduced to only two. Kim even lost her Vancouver seat.
* Kim Campbell retired from politics and returned to teaching where she was offered a fellowship at Harvard University. Since then, however, Kim has returned to politics, having been appointed by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to the post of Consul General in Los Angeles, California

Onward & upward