From the thumbnail, it looked like Ro-Man. This is better.

Why it's quite simple Saara, even retirees need to keep busy. Most tend to do something related to what they were doing when they were working, out of habit. Welcome to retirement!

Everyone knows that old astronauts become public relations experts ... occasionally politicians, which is sort of the same thing.

John Glen became a senator, as I recall, and one of our astronauts -- Marc Hatfield I think -- is a member of parliament for the Liberal party. If he plays his cards right, he could become Prime Minister of the country someday. How cool is that?

It's a sweet life being the government's scapegoat as Prime Minister. You get paid a lot and you basically don't have to do much except make public appearances because you have no real power to do anything else. >V

What country are you from? Actually, the Prime Minister of Canada has quite a lot of power, when his government has a majority in parliament. Some PM's rule their cabinet more democratically than others, but Harper tends to run it as though it were his corporate vice-presidents, and he was Boss. True, a PM had best know where he can't step out of bounds without the press going nuts, the Supreme Court not ruling him unconsitutional, the people picketing his home, etc. but as long as he has most of the seats in a parliamentary vote, there's not much Harper can't have his way. Unfortunately.

I'm Canadian, but really the PM is a figure head for his party. It's mostly the parliament members that hold the power. There's no power that isn't given by the people in those seats. Same with the president in the US. He's basically just able to say "nuke'em" or stop bills he doesn't like. But he can't take deliberate action, even if the population of the US is with him. It's all in the senate. And man, there's a den of corruption. Paid well, all you have to do is show up to 1/3 of the senate sessions in a year, and the only way you lose the position is if you do something illegal (and are caught), miss that last 1/3 of the sessions, or resign.

Supposedly the government is congress and parliament -- and I won't say they aren't powerful. But power in both countries has been growing steadily more centralized in the executive branch with time. Canada doesn't technically have an executive branch, since cabinet and the prime minister arose from British parliamentary practice in which cabinet and pm are directly accountable to the crown for parliament's actions, but are not seen as being government itself. Parliamentary procedure in Canada, though starting with the British model, has been moving in the American direction, with people looking to the PM as though he were a head of state.

Of course, a loss of confidence could take the Mickey out of Harper overnight. He could face an election that might put him back in minority status again. Or -- worse, from his point of view -- even back in opposition, which would be my preference.

Actually, my preference would be either a Liberal or NDP government with the other in opposition. I'd love to see the look on Harper's face if the Conservatives were whipped back to two seats, as they had been under Campbell ... especially if Harper, like Kim Campbell, lost his very own seat.

But it is a very well paid job, with a pension that would support a dozen worthier individuals in style.

"It's a mad house!"

"A mad house!!!"

Where the Wild Tang Is.