After all is said and done, the fact that the premier of Saskatchewan let his 14-year-old daughter drive on a back road is a non-story. In fact, as pointed out in a column Saturday, even those individuals politically pre-disposed to lob criticism at Wall acknowledge that the premier only did what just about everybody in rural Saskatchewan does: let a kid drive a vehicle. Oh sure, by the letter of the law, what Premier Brad Wall did was wrong - but in reality, many people do it, and there's little evidence of any harm being done through this practice: no blood, no foul and all that.When I first read this, I thought, you've got to be kidding me. This is the best we can do? Which was closely followed by, If we're trying to alienate the rural voters further, this is definitely the way to do it.
(PA Daily Herald, March 18/08)
Everyone in Saskatchewan who's grown up on a farm or in a rural area, or knows someone who has, has driven underage. Yes, like it says in the Herald, that's breaking the letter of the law. But this tradition is based less on a coming-of-age ritual and more on practicality: all members of farm families work, and if that means you have to drive the truck at 13, then that's what happens. And more importantly, no one cares.
What really surprises me is the amount of traction this received in the media. But I think Wall managed to turn it around quite nicely and get some good press: he was contrite, showed respect for the office of Premier, and secured the province's urban/rural wedge a little tighter.
We have to remember that the gloves are off in opposition, and that the NDP is free to make whatever attacks they'd like on the government, no matter how silly. But this one smacked of something the Sask Party would have said when they sat on these benches, and that stinks. We're better than that. At least, we used to be.
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