Golden Girl?

No, I don't mean Natalie Portman, though she did look ravishing at Sunday's Oscars, and even if we were rooting for Annette Bening, it's hard to hate any woman who not only survives a Darren Aronofsky movie but scores two men two boot. Granted, one is more fleet-footed than the other (and even has the last name to prove it).

I'm actually referring to Christy Clark, newly minted Premier-elect of British Columbia. Though I have no intention of voting Liberal in the next provincial election, I was silently rooting in this race for George Abbott, who is the most left-leaning of the leadership candidates, and who actually came out and said that he would restore arts and culture funding to 2008 levels.

What, one wonders, is Clark's stance on such an issue? How does it square with her "Families First" platform? I'm always deeply suspicious of such slogans, as their populist message usually masks a conservative agenda regarding what is perceived as elitist add-ons like the performing arts, etc. Never mind that an education in the arts should be a prime criterion for every family.

But then we already know how Clark feels about education...

P.