It's time for the Premier to stop acting as if everyone were out to cheat his province and to look for genuine solutions to the offshore dispute, to equalization reform and to other issues too important to be used as demagogic fodder.Tough words but true ones.
Read the whole editorial. It explains succinctly why it is going to take more than a blue version of the province's name surmounted by three deely boppers to undo the negative branding the Premier has already given the province.
Sure Danny's Pitcher Plants worship various parts of the Premier's anatomy and prove their devotion in their daily calls to local open line shows. But there's a huge difference between people who get their ideas delivered from Danny's publicity machine and the enterprising men and women of the province trying to do business with the rest of the world despite the steady stream of Dan-trums.
Oh yes, and having heard the politically ambitious Kevin O'Brien fall over himself talking about brands and logos, it is possible to conclude only that O'Brien doesn't known logo-arse from his brand-elbow.
Logo = image; O'Brien got that far. Brand = reputation.
Sadly for all of us, it's the Premier's reputation - and hence the province brand - that sucks in far too many quarters where it counts.
If that wasn't enough, anyone who heard O'Brien on Wednesday's version of Open Line found a guy who likely has covetous eyes for Danny's job compare Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to a bunch of company employees.
Does that mean the Minister thinks we are all a bunch of poorly educated children working in an Asian sweatshop? We can just imagine what O'Brien is telling the companies he is trying to lure here, let alone what companies they are.
It almost goes without saying, of course, that Kevin also needs a course in Democracy 101.
But that's another story.
