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Chretien Eats Steak in Bid to Allay Mad Cow Fears
Who would notice if Chretien got Mad Cow Disease?Another health scare, another lunch in front of the cameras. Prime Minister Jean Chretien tucked into a prime Alberta steak in a downtown Ottawa restaurant on Wednesday in a bid to allay public fears over mad cow disease. Yeah, that oughta solve the problem. He gets a free steak dinner and the crisis is over. Chretien, who critics said had not done enough to reassure Canadians during the height of a recent SARS crisis, grabbed the bull by the horns after one case of mad cow disease was confirmed in the western province of Alberta on Tuesday. First the Liberal prime minister appeared before reporters early on Wednesday morning to say he expected the cow in question was an isolated case and to announce he would be eating steak that day. Then he made good on his word, turning up with senior aides at an outdoor restaurant for a meal of Alberta sirloin steak under a cluster of boom microphones. "I'll have mine medium, like a Liberal," he said in comments loud enough to be heard by the waiting media. That probably also means, "No tip for the waitress, like a Liberal." Later he went over to shake the hands of a group of excited schoolchildren and told them: "You should have a steak today." ...and make it medium, like a Liberal! Last month Chretien had lunch in Toronto's Chinatown district as he sought to persuade Canadians that it was safe to eat in Chinese restaurants despite the spread of SARS, which originated in China. Another free meal, another crisis solved. Well,...maybe not. Shortly afterward he went to the Dominican Republic for an official visit and a 10-day vacation, prompting critics to say he should have been more involved in tackling the SARS crisis. Not my job, man. Hey, he didn't get SARS down there. Posted by: tu3031 2003-05-22 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=14570 |