Justin Trudeau's political theatre

A famous quote from Edmund Burke reads as follows: "It is a general popular error to suppose the loudest complainers for the public to be the most anxious for its welfare." That is to say, the squeaky wheels are not always concerned about everyone else; sometimes they're just out for themselves.

With that said, politics are extremely complicated. We now live in a time where the media encircles every politician, like vultures, hoping to break the latest story so they can immediately tweet about it. Yet, as is the instinct of a bloodthirsty mob, we're never looking out for something positive. So politicians, across the world, and even more so in the United States, are under the constant pressure of the media's watchful eye. This development has given rise to the media savvy politician.

Justin Trudeau is media savvy. He knows what reporters want, he knows how to speak candidly, how to take calculated risks, and how to move the chess pieces of the press around in his own favor. He stands in stark contrast to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who is much less candid, much less charismatic, and much more camera shy. The perception then, between the two of them, is that Trudeau is forthright and honest and capable, while PM Harper is aloof and out of touch.

I'll avoid partisanship here, because I don't think it's necessary, but I do want to draw our attention back to Edmund Burke's quote. Now I want to consider our friendly neighbor to the south, the United States.

President Barack Obama was charismatic, media savvy, and also surprisingly candid. He had an air of honesty, of reality, of being in touch with the concerns of the modern generation. That popularity served to slingshot him past the Clinton dynasty in 2008 and right into the Oval Office. Now, nearing the end of his Presidency, what can we say that he's accomplished to the betterment of the United States as a nation?

Without being too ostentatious, here's a list of some negative accomplishments: the IRS scandal, the complete mishandling of the tragedy at Benghazi, the Department of Justice whitewashing old speeches and spying on the Associated Press, the DOJ also helping to smuggle weapons that killed an American citizen with their "Fast and Furious" program, the unfortunate trial of Bradley Manning, and most recently the ever-expanding NSA ordeal with whistle blower Edward Snowden.

Let's not forget how he's handled Syria, too.

Media savvy does not equate to competence in Canadian politics. Being a candid, but bull-headed populist in our House of Commons will lead to a stale parliament that accomplishes nothing. Part of the reason why the American Congress is so out of order is because of President Obama's insistence on ramming through his own policies, regardless of the established political process.

It seems that the media savvy and charismatic leaders are somewhat powerless when faced with jaded politicians that have heard it all and seen it all before. To the public, Justin Trudeau and Barack Obama are wonderful representative figureheads of their personal concerns and agendas. To the people they have to work with, they're posturing, rhetorical badgers with an agenda that's incompatible with the needs of the nation. Mix in the media and it becomes readily apparent that Parliament has become a stage play. Politicians are the actors, voters are the audience, and journalists are the critics.

The key issue is that the biggest ham on stage always gets the most attention but isn't always the best performer, and is typically never the right person for the job.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.