William Shatner for P.M.?!

[Mahdi]

Seriously, turn on global news....

Edit:

"He has good leadership skills, keeps people in line, even his close friends, and does well with the ladies...." - reporter

"The prospect of Bill Shatner running for Prime Minister strikes terror in my heart" - Ignateff

"But can he handle Steven Harper?" - cut to Captain Kirk beating up another alien.

So... did Shatner actually say he was interested in Canadian politics or not?  Gah.  Stupid global news.

Of course it's a fluff news piece and it would never remotely happen, but still I'd like to hear the actual news behind it.

If Trudeau can get named as a front runner for liberal leadership on nothing than his name....

[Andrew]

Probably just a slow news day. But it is being reported in many places.

Prime Minister Shatner?

"I must, with deepest thanks, turn down your honourable intent to advance me as Governor General. Besides which, I don't have time to be Governor General," wrote the Star Trek star. "My intention is to be Prime Minister of Canada, not Governor General, which is mainly a ceremonial position."

77 years old. Too old.

[Mahdi]

Oh, so the whole thing was based on a joke he said?  Wow.  I figured that, but Global should have said so. 

Now, don't get me wrong, it obviously wasn't ever going to happen, but it would not have surprised me if Shatner was serious about getting into politics.  As Ignateff said, it's a truly frightening thought, but considering all of the other actors who moved into politics, it couldn't be immediately dismissed as B.S. unless you knew it was a joke to begin with.  It's bad reporting.

[Hypatia]

If Trudeau can get named as a front runner for liberal leadership on nothing than his name....

Are you referring to Justin? The talk of him going into politics started about 10 seconds after he finished speaking his father's eulogy at the funeral. But he's smart enough to know that he needs to start at the bottom and pay his dues like every other backbench MP.

William Shatner couldn't be PM even if he really wanted to. He took out U.S. citizenship, which I suspect he wouldn't be willing to give up for the sake of a political job in Canada. And if public pressure forced Mme Jean to give up her French citizenship when she became Governor-General, it's a sure bet that the public wouldn't accept a dual-citizenship Prime Minister, either.

[SandChigger]

The Shat for Canadian PM?! Excellent! How could you do worse?

"Denny Crane!"  ;D

[Hypatia]

Even Denny Crane would be better than what we have now.  :P

[Dunenewt]

Ronald Reagan was an actor turned President, so why not Shatner for PM?

[Andrew]

He would not win.

[Dunenewt]

I don't know much about him outside of Star Trek, but he does seem quite a mocked person on TV. Do Canadians not take him seriously when he talks politics?

[Dante]

I don't know much about him outside of Star Wars, but he does seem quite a mocked person on TV.  Do Canadians not take him seriously when he talks politics?

Star Wars? ???

[Dunenewt]

Whoops, let's just ignore that slight oversight (I'm waiting for a comment from 'Chigger there :P)

[Hypatia]

I don't know much about him outside of Star Trek, but he does seem quite a mocked person on TV.  Do Canadians not take him seriously when he talks politics?

I don't remember hearing or reading about him ever talking Canadian politics.

But remember that in Canada you can't run directly for Prime Minister. You have to gain the leadership of a political party, and that party has to win a Federal election with at least a manageable minority of seats (like what happened in the last couple of elections here).

I just can't imagine William Shatner as leader of either the Liberals or the Alliance in Tory clothing. Yes, we have other federal parties, but they have sadly unrealistic chances of winning an election any time soon... :(

[Dunenewt]

But remember that in Canada you can't run directly for Prime Minister. You have to gain the leadership of a political party, and that party has to win a Federal election with at least a manageable minority of seats (like what happened in the last couple of elections here).

Same as here then.